The Falcon Oracle
by secretangel106
Summary: Tommy and Kimberly were an unstoppable force... Who wouldn't want to keep them apart?
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: This is my first fanfic! While I'm very excited to finally have my ideas down on paper, I know that there is much room for improvement. Constructive criticism is much appreciated._

_ Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my own crazy ideas. Power Rangers? Certainly not mine. :-)  
_

**The Falcon Oracle**

**Chapter 1**

He shuddered violently as he stumbled along the edge of the lake, trying to keep his eyes focused on his destination. He had almost reached the stone ledge at the water's edge when his legs betrayed him and he fell face first into the sand. Cursing loudly, he pulled himself up on his forearms and used a mock army crawl to travel the remaining few feet. Once he felt the cold, hard stone beneath his fingertips, he pulled himself up to a sitting position. Cold sweat streamed down his face and back, causing him to shiver. He used one hand to push a damp strand of dark hair out of his eyes while using his other to brace himself against the ridge. His breath was coming in short gasps, and his vision was blurred with his own tears.

He used one shaky hand to pull a folded piece of paper from his pocket. He sighed as he opened it and read it to himself for what felt like the millionth time that day.

…_hardest letter I've ever had to write… in some ways like a brother… met someone else… Please forgive me._

Squinting, he was only able to make out parts of the letter between his shudders and tears. The last line in the letter still pulled his breath from his chest, and for a moment he thought for sure he would suffocate. This letter had caused this same reaction each time he had read it that day. His tears started to fall, and he began to tremble violently. A sickening feeling overcame him, and he leaned over and placed his head on his knees to keep himself from throwing up.

White bolts of energy started emanating from his chest and working their way down his arms and legs. He couldn't stop shaking now, and it was all he could do to keep from screaming in agony. The energy bolts made their way down to his fingertips and leapt to the ground below. He used every fiber of strength to keep his body under control, which was now convulsing uncontrollably.

And then, as soon as it began, the white beams stopped. He slumped with exhaustion and took several deep breaths to regain his composure. Then he pulled himself to his feet. The trembling, sweating and blurry vision had all faded away, but they had been replaced with an empty, gut-wrenching feeling in his chest. He was fairly certain he knew what just happened, but he had better check with Billy and Zordon. Fast.

Tommy Oliver had just lost the power of the Falcon Oracle.

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_Eight Years Later_

Dr. Thomas Oliver couldn't help but smile at the sight before him. He watched from behind a computer screen at Hayley's cyber café as Trent, Ethan and Connor had an animated discussion that he was all too familiar with. Trent was nervous about asking Kira out, and the other two boys were actively trying to persuade him that Kira would undoubtedly say yes.

"Penny for your thoughts, stranger," said a voice behind him.

Tommy turned to find Hayley, standing with one hand on her hip and the other holding a rag to wipe down the tables. The look on her face was a mix between anger and relief, and Tommy knew he was receiving that look because it had been quite a while since he had stopped in just to say 'hi.' These days, the only time he and Hayley got to talk was when they were talking ranger business, and Tommy could honestly say he missed their 2am powwows about Tommy's latest romantic mishap or Hayley's current scientific venture.

"Oh, I was just watching Connor and Ethan bully Trent into asking Kira out," Tommy replied. "It brings back old memories."

"Oh yeah? Good memories or bad ones?"

Tommy frowned. "I don't know. I guess that's what I was trying to figure out. Part of me wants to grab Trent and tell him to stay far away and avoid having his heart ripped to shreds."

"Only part of you?" Hayley said in a facetious tone as she started to wipe a nearby table. "What does the other part of you think?"

"The other part of me wants to relive these parts of my life vicariously through him."

Hayley rolled her eyes and tossed the damp rag at Tommy. "You're such a hopeless romantic."

Tommy tossed the rag back and sighed. "I sure used to be. I don't know, anymore."

"Getting cynical in your old age?" Hayley said with a giggle.

"I guess."

After a brief silent moment, Hayley decided this conversation was over, and it was time for shop talk. "I was worried when I didn't hear from you guys yesterday."

"Why's that?" Tommy answered as he redirected his attention to the computer screen.

"Well, I heard about the tyranodrone attack on the news," she whispered. "They said you guys took care of them, but I didn't hear anything about a monster. And then, I didn't hear from any of you afterwards. It was just weird."

Tommy shook his head. Lots of strange things had happened lately. About two weeks prior, they had started picking up some strange energy readings from the remains of the original command center. This had happened occasionally over the past eight years, but in the last two weeks the readings were much stronger and almost constant. When the readings started showing up in Hayley's energy scans, Tommy had hiked to the spot in the mountains where the command center once stood. Time had long concealed the remains, and anyone who passed the ruins now would never know the significance of the force buried there. Tommy spent most of the day there meditating and reminiscing, but he found nothing out of the ordinary, and he returned to the lab that evening and told Hayley that nothing was amiss.

Then the tyranodrone attacks started. Not that this was out of the ordinary for the Dino Thunder team, but what was strange happened after each attack – nothing. Tommy knew as a veteran ranger that when the evil armies were dispatched – whether they were putties, tengas, cogs, or tyranodrones – a monster attack was sure to follow. However, that hadn't happened in the last few weeks. Just a handful of drones that fought and then retreated quickly. Neither Tommy nor Hayley could come up with an explanation or possible motive for such attacks, putting them in the uncomfortable position of waiting like sitting ducks for whatever plan Mesogog had to come to light.

"I don't know, Hayley. Something is definitely up… I just don't know what." He sighed, signed off of the computer and stood to leave. "I'll let you know if anything pops up."

"Okay. I'll probably swing by later to do some more in-depth energy scans in the lab. If there's something lurking out there, we'll want to find it before it finds us."

Tommy nodded and headed for the door of the café.

"Hey!" Hayley called after him. "What's up with you lately? You seem… off."

Tommy turned and shrugged. "I guess I'm feeling nostalgic. It'll pass. It always does." And with that he headed for the parking lot and took the short drive home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Several hours later, Tommy found himself dozing on the couch, a half-empty beer bottle in his hand. Deep down, he knew he should be more alert, but a strange feeling of apathy had overtaken him, and right now he wanted nothing more than to sit on his couch, drink a beer, and watch TV, like every other 25-year-old man he knew. To an outsider, it would appear that Tommy Oliver was depressed, but he was anything but. At this moment in time he was entirely content in the normalcy of the situation. In fact, he smiled slightly at the mere thought of having the lifestyle of a true bachelor.

His smile faded when he heard Kira's voice through his communicator.

"Dr. O! Dr. O, we need help at the lake!"

Tommy sprung to his feet, letting his natural reflexes take over. His smile vanished and became a look of fierce determination as he reached for his morpher. This was his life, alright, and as much as he thought about being "normal", he knew he'd never be able to let go of the rush he got every time he morphed.

The energy from the black dino gem engulfed him, and he was no longer plain ol' bachelor Tommy Oliver. He was now the Black Dino Thunder Ranger. He responded to Kira to let her know he was on his way, and in a flash of light, he was gone.

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Tommy arrived at the lake to find Kira and Trent, already morphed into the yellow and white rangers, respectively. They were surrounded by a clan of tyranodrones. Not more than a minute after Tommy's feet touched the ground Connor and Ethan arrived, morphed and ready for action.

Together, the five rangers took on the drones. The drones had come on full force against Kira and Trent, but once the other rangers arrived they backed off considerably. Their hasty retreat made Tommy anxious about their motives.

"You guys alright?" he yelled to the rest of the team. The team slowly gathered to regroup.

"Trent, Kira… What happened?" Connor said, breathlessly.

"We were just walking by the lake when they showed up. They were tough, man… we couldn't stop them! Then when you guys showed up it's like they just… quit," Trent explained.

Tommy looked around to make sure no one was watching. Then he commanded the team to power down. "Let's get back to the lab and check in with Hayley."

Ethan reached for his teleporter, but Tommy stopped him. "Let's walk. It's not far." The rest of the team looked at each other questioningly, but did not object. Tommy wanted to cling to every ounce of 'ordinary' he could – and ordinary people did not teleport. Plus, this gave him time to ponder what Kira and Trent were doing at the lake. He was almost certain that Trent had been trying to ask Kira out, based on the conversation that took place earlier. And if life was as cruelly ironic as he was sure it was, he figured that Trent had stumbled his way through a conversation just to be interrupted by tyranodrones when he finally worked up the courage to ask. He made a mental note to pull Trent aside and give him a pep talk. He was sure he'd need it.

Once they arrived at his home, though, Tommy deeply regretted his choice to take a leisurely walk back from the park.

The front door of Tommy's house had been kicked in – or, at least, he hoped it had been kicked. _'That's what normal robbers would do,'_ Tommy thought as he hurried inside. Once in the living room, though, Tommy and the rest of the team knew this was no ordinary robbery. Whoever had been in the house had been looking for something specific, and Tommy's house had plenty to hide.

The group made their way through the house, trying to find out if anything was missing. Trent turned to find Kira hanging back from the group with a concerned look on her face.

"Kira? What's wrong?" he asked.

"I have a bad feeling," she said distractedly, as her eyes darted around frantically.

"A bad feeling about what?"

"I don't know, but… I think whoever was in here is still here."

As if on cue, a thump and a crash came from below them.

Tommy turned and raced towards the basement, his ranger teammates right on his heels. He flung open the door and nearly fell backwards. On the steps leading below was none other than Mesogog himself, holding Hayley tightly in his grasp, his claw menacingly close to her throat.

"Tommy!" she whimpered. Mesogog tightened his grip on her arm and pointed the claw at her throat upwards.

"Let her go!" he demanded.

Mesogog cackled. "Not a chance, Oliver. Besides, you should be used to going after the damsel in distress. How many times have you rescued your precious Kimberly?"

Tommy stiffened at the mention of her name. He made an active effort every day not to think about her, but deep down he knew Kimberly was the only woman he had ever truly loved. He did everything he could to push her out of his mind, including burying himself in his work over the last few years. She had been the topic of many a drunken conversation with Hayley during his college years, and he couldn't help but think about her every time he went out on a date with another girl, but he was sure he had never talked about her while he was working with Mercer. How did Mesogog know about her?

"Tommy, I'm sorry! I came over to work in the lab, and…" Hayley stammered. Mesogog grunted and hauled her backwards down the stairs, eliciting a short shriek from Hayley and cutting off her statement.

"Dr. O! Let's go!" yelled Connor, jarring Tommy from his thoughts. Together the rangers raced down the stairs after Mesogog and Hayley, just in time to see them disappear into an invisa-portal.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The petite young woman shifted her carry-on from one shoulder to the other anxiously and pushed a strand of short dark hair off her forehead. She glanced at the TSA sign explaining that no weapons were allowed on the plane and chuckled to herself. She felt her hands start to burn and shoved them into her pockets before their pink glow became obvious.

_It's a good thing Oracle powers don't set off the metal detector,_ she thought.

Once through security she stopped to buy a cup of coffee and made her way to the gate. If she had been more alert she would have noticed a group of young men nearby very obviously ogling her. However, the woman was lost in her own thoughts.

_Am I crazy? Am I really doing this?_ She shook her head and took another sip of her coffee.

_You made a promise. Just keep telling yourself that. You made a promise._

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and strongly considered standing up and leaving. She was still feeling conflicted when they started boarding her flight, and she remained in her seat right up until the final boarding call.

"THIS IS THE LAST CALL FOR FLIGHT 106, DIRECT SERVICE TO ANGEL GROVE."

_Well, now or never._

With that, she tossed her empty coffee cup away and headed for the boarding door.

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"What should we do, Dr. Oliver?" Kira cried frantically.

Tommy tried to ignore the panic creeping into her voice and her use of his full last name. That meant that she was frightened, as none of the rangers ever called him anything but Dr. O.

"It's probably still possible to pick up on Hayley's energy signature. We can use it to create our own portal and follow them," Ethan chimed in.

"Yeah, Ethan, good thinking…" Tommy said absent-mindedly. His mind was still wrapped around Mesogog's mention of Kim.

"Earth to Dr. O! Dude, do you even care that Mesogog just took off with Hayley?" Connor yelled.

"Of course I care! Ethan, start working on that energy signature," Tommy snapped. He turned back to Connor. "And what did I tell you about calling me 'dude'?"

Ethan began frantically working on the computer equipment, trying to pick up on the energy signature. Connor went to the storage room and began pulling out every weapon he could find. Trent and Kira were huddled together in a corner of the room, their mere presence providing mutual comfort. And Tommy paced the length of the lab. His mind darted between Hayley and Kimberly. Yes, he knew he had to rescue Hayley. She had no ranger powers to protect her. But Tommy was confident in his ranger team, and he felt confident in their ability to find and free Hayley.

A deep, sinking feeling in his stomach and a familiar pain in his chest told him that the situation with Kimberly was different. Was Mesogog planning on abducting her too? Had he already? Tommy had no idea, and because he hadn't spoken to her in nearly ten years he had no way of monitoring her safety. He realized that the fact that he was still worried about her safety after all these years proved just what a valuable hostage she would make for Mesogog.

"Dr. O! I got it! The portal's opening now!"

Tommy jumped and headed for the glowing opening in the center of the room, the other rangers close behind.

_Go get Hayley. Then come home, swallow your pride, and give Kim a call._

This was Tommy's last thought as he led the team through the portal.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The five rangers emerged on the other side of the portal and found themselves unmorphed.

"Hey! What just happened?" Connor yelled.

Ethan reached for his morpher and attempted to become the blue ranger again, with no success. "Our powers don't work?!?"

Tommy felt a cold chill shoot down his spine. There was something all too familiar about this place, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Dr. O? How are we supposed to find Hayley without our powers?" Trent asked nervously.

"You'd be amazed at the things you can do, even without powers," Tommy responded cryptically. He found himself sinking back into reminiscence, and he had to fight to keep his mind in the game.

"Were you ever in a place like this without powers, Dr. O?" Kira inquired.

Kira's question refocused Tommy's mind, and suddenly he knew exactly where they were. "It's a Dark Dimension!" he exclaimed.

"Uh… okay…" Kira said with a roll of her eyes. Dr. Oliver had effectively avoided her question – again.

"What's a Dark Dimension?" Ethan asked, as they made their way apprehensively down the dark corridor.

"A Dark Dimension is a place created by a force of evil. It exists beneath our own realm. Our ranger powers only exist in our own, so that's why they don't work. I haven't seen one since Rita and Zedd, though."

"Who are Rita and Zedd?" asked Connor, suddenly interested in the conversation.

"They were the evil leaders when the original rangers were around. They were sort of like our Mesogog."

The group continued the rest of their trek in silence. Soon, they reached the end of the narrow corridor and found themselves in a large underground cavern. The room was nearly pitch black and filled with a thick, milky fog. There was only enough light to make out a vague shadow here and there. Tommy felt the rangers huddle closer to him.

"Hayley!" he called out into the darkness. The other rangers echoed him.

Just as Tommy thought he might have to make his way out of this room in the dark, a bright green light burst from the corner of the room. At first the light did nothing but illuminate the fog, but soon a shadowy figure stepped from the corner. It didn't take long for the group to recognize their nemesis.

"Mesogog," Tommy said through clenched teeth. "Where's Hayley?"

The sound of Mesogog's heavy breathing cut through the silence of the room. Tommy felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead, and he wiped them away with the back of his hand. He started to repeat his question, but Connor beat him to it.

"Last chance, snake-breath. Where is she?"

Mesogog ignored the question and took several steps closer to the five rangers huddled in near the middle of the room. "Tommy… I managed to run into some old friends of yours. They were thrilled to hear you were a ranger again," he said, followed by an evil laugh. Tommy's heart sank – what 'old friends' was he talking about? Kimberly? He hoped not. He wasn't sure he had the emotional fortitude to see her right now, let alone swoop in and save her. And the alternative, the idea of not saving her, was rotting a whole in his stomach.

"We decided we'd like to find out if you're really worth all the hype," Mesogog continued. "You're the most feared ranger in the whole galaxy, and we'd like to know why." By the end of this statement, Mesogog's voice had sunk to a whispery snarl, and Tommy was so focused on preparing himself for battle that he didn't even stop to wonder who Mesogog was referring to as 'we.'

"Cut it out, you overgrown slimeball! Give us back Hayley!" Trent yelled in an uncharacteristic bout of rage. But Mesogog ignored the outburst, and turned back toward the shadows. In that instant, Tommy felt the presence of someone – or something – else in the room.

Directly ahead of the rangers, a group of tyranodrones made their way out of the shadows, but those were the least of their worries. Out of the corner of her eye Kira caught a glance of a flock of bird-like creatures and let loose a small yelp. On their right, a group of gray-clad creatures were mumbling and motioning towards Connor. And Tommy was frantically trying to figure out how to divide and conquer a room filled with tyranodrones, putties and tengas with only five rangers. He was thinking so hard, in fact, that he almost didn't notice the flash of brightly colored light behind them.

"Hey bro, we thought you could use some help," said a familiar voice. Tommy spun on his heel to face his mystery supporters – and nearly fell over in shock.

Tommy found himself face-to-face with Jason Scott and Zach Taylor.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the feedback! Trust me, there's more to come. It means so much to me that you take the time to read my ramblings!_

_I probably shouldn't admit this… But I haven't watched PR since Kim left. Therefore, I don't really know much about the events that have taken place since then. All my Dino Thunder info only comes from reading other fanfic, so if I mess something up, please let me know! I'll fix it._

**Chapter 5**

"Bro! What are you two doing here?" Tommy asked incredulously.

"Never mind that for now. We've got some work to do." Zack clapped his hands and then rubbed them together in anticipation.

Jason smiled. "So lead on, fearless leader," he said with a nod.

"Right." Tommy reassessed the situation briefly. All of the creatures were slowly closing in on them, and his rangers had already dropped into defensive stances. He realized that, out of the three monsters, Jason and Zack had only dealt with the putties, and the dino rangers had only dealt with the tyranodrones. That made his job easier. "Jason, Zack, take the putties. Ethan and Trent, take the tyranodrones. Kira and Connor, you're with me. We'll take the tengas," he said, motioning towards the feathery freaks.

With that, the group split. They came at their respective hordes powerfully and drove them pack into the dark corners of the room. 'Huts' and 'ki-yas' echoed from the stone walls, and one by one they defeated each ugly creature.

"Have I mentioned how much I miss this?" Zack said, to no one in particular as he bashed a putty's head against his knee.

"Maybe we should take up the ranger costume again," Jason replied, half-jokingly. He blocked a blow, ducked, and spun to face Tommy. "What do you think?" Just then, a tenga glided across the room directly at Tommy. He was pushed against the wall, but didn't have to work very hard to free himself from the tenga's grasp. He shot an annoyed look in Jason and Zack's direction.

"What do you think?" he muttered. Jason laughed and returned his attention to the putties.

A few minutes later, the ground was littered with collapsed monsters. The seven rangers and former rangers started to slowly make their way through a maze of feathers, scales and clay to regroup in the center of the room. A crash from one side of the room halted their progress as they all directed their attention to the source of the noise. Out of the shadows stepped Mesogog.

"You wish to be reunited with your precious Hayley? Well, your wish has been granted!" he bellowed as he tossed a small round object in the rangers' direction. As soon as it made contact with the floor it began to hiss and smoke, followed by flashes of brightly colored light.

When the smoke cleared, Tommy, Kira and Connor had vanished.

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"Hey! Where'd they go?" Ethan cried out.

Trent turned to the two men they had yet to be introduced to. They looked just as puzzled as he was. "What do we do?" As soon as the question was out of his mouth, he followed it with, "Who are you guys, anyway?"

Zack, ignoring the question for the moment, turned to Jason. "What do you think, man? Should we start walking?" he said, motioning toward the unexplored end of the dark cavern.

Jason nodded and looked back at the two younger boys. "Come on, let's go. We'll explain on the way."

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Tommy's eyes popped open in another room, presumably in the same underground lair. The first thing he noticed were tall iron bars. He, Kira and Connor were in a cage of some sort.

The second thing he noticed was Hayley.

"Tommy!" she cried, as she picked herself up off the floor and flung herself at him. "I'm so glad you're here! I'm completely freaked out!"

Tommy embraced her. "I'm glad I'm here too. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"No, no… Mesogog and the red guy were talking, and they said I was the perfect lure to get you down here." She pulled herself back from Tommy and frowned. "I'm sorry I was bait. I feel like I got us all trapped."

"No way, Hayley!" Connor piped in. "Mesogog did this, not you. None of this is your fault," he said, clenching his fist.

"Hey, did you say something about a red guy?" Tommy asked cautiously.

"Yes, Mesogog's down here with some red guy. He's pretty scary looking. He has a chrome exoskeleton, and carries a big staff."

_No,_ Tommy thought. _It couldn't be…_

"Oh yeah, and a big gold lion with wings! It's like something out of a bad dream!" she added, refusing to take her quivering hand from his arm.

Tommy was experiencing some major déjà vu. He turned, stepped forward and leaned on the bars of the cage, his arms above his head and forearms making contact with the cool iron. "ZEDD! GOLDAR! WHERE ARE YOU?" he yelled.

"Dr. O, what are you doing?!?" Kira cried, swatting at him frantically. "Do you want them to know we're here?"

"They already know we're here, Kira. They put us here," he said, surprisingly calmly. He took a moment to survey the room. This one was different than the other. The floor was covered in smooth, flat cement, and the walls, despite appearing as though they were untouched for quite some time, were very ornately decorated in a rich red color. Directly across from him is what caught his attention immediately, though. About 15 feet up in the air was a small balcony on the inside of the room. It reminded him of the balconies at an opera house he visited with his family when he was much younger. That thought made him shudder – it meant the four of them in the cage were "on stage." Behind the balcony's small platform was a set of double doors, and sunshine was glaring through the windows brightly. _That's our way out,_ he thought. _If we can just make it out of this cage, and climb up there somehow, we can get out._

"ZEDD!" Tommy shouted one last time before hearing a well-known cackle. The evil tyrant stepped out of the murkiness.

"Tommy, my friend!" he exclaimed in a way that sounded like he was greeting a long-lost comrade. "Long time no see!"

"Zedd, what are you doing here? I thought you were destroyed by the space rangers!"

"Tommy, you of all people should know that true evil never fades away."

"Cut the crap, Zedd."

"Okay, Tommy. We met up with your friend Mesogog, discovered that he was trying to destroy the power rangers, realized we had something in common…" he paused and began to pace. "And it was just our lucky day when we found out you were a ranger again."

Tommy looked away and shook his head. Would this ever end?

"So, Tommy, we've joined forces. And you have no way to stop us. You know the saying, 'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em?' We're hoping you start to see the wisdom in that." Zedd took a few steps forward so his face was up against he bars, inches from Tommy's. Kira stepped back and gasped when she was able to see him in full light. "Join us, Tommy, or be destroyed!"

Just then, the door that led to the balcony burst open and two figures appeared.

"Oh, Zedd, you didn't think you could have a Ranger-reunion without me, did you?"

Tommy froze. He knew that voice better than he knew his own.

"Who is that?" Kira whispered to Connor.

Zedd cackled, and spoke without even turning to face the speaker.

"Kimberly…" he snarled.


	6. Chapter 6

_So, here's where we get a little AU. (I hope that's the right term.) Lots of backstory here… Sorry, no Tommy/Kim interaction yet! Thanks again for all the input. I'll update again soon._

**Chapter 6**

"So, you two are original power rangers?" Ethan asked as the four continued their trek through the underground labyrinth.

"Yep. Like, 'original' original. Pre-Tom – er, Dr. Oliver, even." Zack responded proudly.

"I didn't even know there was a Pre-Dr. O," Ethan said.

"I did," Trent chimed in. "Because he was evil, right?"

"That's right. Not the best moment in ranger history, but we ended up victorious." Jason said.

"He told me all about it," said Trent, thinking back to the long talks he and Dr. Oliver had after he had spent time as an evil ranger.

"Did he tell you about Kimberly?" Jason asked.

Both boys shook their heads. "But Mesogog mentioned her name today when he had Hayley," Trent recalled.

Jason sighed. "Alright, long story short. She was the original pink ranger. And your fearless leader was madly in love with her. The two of them were so in love with each other, they got their own powers because of it."

"What?!?" Ethan gaped.

"Not fair!" Trent added.

"Well I don't know about that," Jason said, shrugging. "I don't know a whole lot about it, because it all happened after I left, and ended before I returned." When he saw the boys' puzzled looks, he added, "I'll explain that later. Anyway, the team went to the lost planet of Phaedos to restore their powers after Ivan Ooze destroyed the command center – the first time. Tommy took on the ninjetti spirit of the falcon, and Kimberly took the spirit of the crane."

"Yeah, he told us about that in his video," said Ethan.

Jason frowned. "Now, _you'll_ have to tell _me_ about that one later."

"So not fair," mumbled Zack to himself. "I wanted to go to another planet."

Jason laughed and patted him on the back as they continued in the darkness. "No way, man…. You would have been the frog." This elicited a much-needed laugh from everyone.

"So anyway…." Jason continued. "After they got back, Tommy and Kimberly started getting really sick. They were running fevers, they were shaky…. And all of that makes it tough to drive a zord. So Alpha ran some energy scans on them, and they were off the charts! They had no idea what was wrong with them, so they started doing some research. By this point, they were having seizures, and they'd either sleep for days at a time or be total insomniacs. It was driving them both crazy… but at least they were together."

"Gag me with a spoon," Zack interjected.

"Finally Alpha found an old legend about an oracle from Phaedos. The oracle was connected to the Falcon spirit. In this legend, it said that great powers would be granted by the oracle to those who were worthy, and to those whose bond was deep and truly unbreakable – or something like that. The details are fuzzy. All they had to do was learn how to focus all of that energy."

"It was a lot of energy," Zack added, feeling the need to stress the magnitude of the power.

"The problem with focusing the energy was that it was tied to their emotions. That meant that the powers amplified their emotions, and also the powers were amplified by their emotions," Jason said, replaying the statement in his head to make sure it made sense. After a short pause, he continued. "So, if Tommy had a bad day at school, he'd show up at the youth center and end up breaking equipment with his powers. Or if Kimberly was excited about something – which she often was – she'd start glowing bright pink."

"I don't even want to _know_ what happened when they got together," Zack said, giggling at the mental image. The two younger boys shuddered at the thought of Dr. Oliver 'getting together' with any girl.

"So, what kind of powers were they?" Trent asked, eyes wide.

"Almost anything you could think of. There was an offensive power. They could use it to shoot laser beams from their hands!" Zack said. His voice became more excited as he continued to speak, making him sound like a small child telling a grand tale.

"WHOA!" both boys said in unison.

"Well, Zack's exaggerating a little," Jason said as he slugged Zack in the shoulder. "But there were shooting energy beams involved, from what I understand. They also had a powerful link to each other. Sometimes they could read each other's thoughts, even though that seemed to come and go. And they could sense each other nearby. I'm not sure what else. But I will tell you one thing…"

Ethan and Trent, now hanging on every word, paused in anticipation.

"It made them pretty badass for a while."

"So what happened?" Trent ventured.

"Well…" Jason started, then turned to Zack for support. He put his hands out in front of him and shook his head, as if to say, _I'm not getting involved here._

"Well I guess that's for Dr. Oliver to tell you," he concluded.

"Did they break up?"

"Did one of them get hurt?"

"Did they use the powers against each other?"

The questions were flying a mile a minute now, but Jason wasn't sure how to respond. He was in a strange position between his two friends. "Um, I guess you could say they broke up… sort of." He glanced back at Zack, who made another motion as if to say, _that's enough._

"Hey look, I think I see a light up ahead!" shouted Ethan. Jason was thankful for the distraction. But as they made their way toward the brightness in the distance, one more question came his way.

"Do they still have the power of the Falcon Oracle?"

Jason and Zack looked at each other and shrugged. "We don't know," Zack said, cryptically.


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry it took me so long to update! End of the quarter left me with plenty of grading to do! Anyway, here's the latest installment. Writing about the combat is not my greatest strength, so if you have ideas for improvement I'd appreciate them!_

_Also, I was very anxious to write and post this chapter, so it hasn't been proofread as well as the others. Sorry! If you catch a mistake, let me know. Enjoy!_

**Chapter 7**

At the very sound of Kimberly's voice, Tommy felt a knot form in the pit of his stomach. Kim was here and completely unprotected by ranger powers. He was pretty sure Trini was with her, but he couldn't be sure, as he had only caught a brief glimpse. Zedd was going to go after her full force. He had been content with waiting until Jason, Zack, Ethan and Trent made their way there to free them from the cell, but his urge to protect Kim and Trini made him incredibly restless and anxious to get out.

Immediately after identifying the women on the balcony, Zedd whirled around to face them, and in one swift movement lifted his staff and shot a sizeable energy blast in their direction. Kimberly, who was indeed with Trini, grabbed her arm and they both hit the ground long before the blast struck the wall above their head. They now crouched on the floor of the balcony behind the solid railing, facing the doorway they had just used to enter the room.

"Okay," Kim said, catching her breath. "I see some things never change. By the way, who's the girl with Tommy?"

"Kim!" Trini said exasperatedly. "First of all, there were two women who _happen_ to be locked up _with_ Tommy. I don't have any idea who either of them is, because I haven't talked to Tommy in years! And secondly, we're being fired at right now. Do you think you could think about something else?"

Kimberly rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'm thinking about a plan now. Are you ready to hear it?"

"I don't know if I can handle this," Trini said, noting a mischievous sparkle in her eye.

"I want you to head to the back corner and try to climb down. Do you think you can do it?" Kim said sincerely, recalling her good friend's fear of heights.

"I can manage, but what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to make it down first and cover you while you get down."

"How do you intend to do that?" Another fiery blast struck the top of the door frame, making both girls jump.

Kim grinned. "You'll see. When you get down, try to make your way over to the cell door and see what you can do about that lock."

Trini nodded and moved closer to the back corner of the balcony. She glanced back at Kimberly, who was now crouched facing the other direction, with her back to the doorway a few feet away from the balcony railing. She sighed, and hoped that whatever Kimberly was planning would work.

Kim turned to her friend and nodded. Then she squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and lunged forward powerfully.

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While Zedd was distracted, Tommy turned to the rangers and Hayley. "Guys, the moment that door is opened, for any reason, I want you to get out. Fast," he said, motioning to the padlocked door of the cell. Once you're out, though, cover your back and try to stay out of the way." He locked eyes with Hayley. "I don't want anything to happen to any of you."

The three nodded and inched closer to the door. Tommy turned back just in time to see Kimberly leap forward, grab the railing, and vault over the barrier in perfect gymnast form. A quick turn and a quick flip landed Kimberly on the main floor in seconds. Tommy's heart stopped for a split-second until he saw her safely on the ground. He shook his head, and a small smile touched his lips. _She always lands on her feet,_ he thought wistfully.

Zedd wasn't nearly as impressed with her landing. "PUTTIES!" he roared. Instantly, the room was filled with the gray creatures. Kimberly placed her hands in a defensive position and leaned backwards, putting her full weight on her back leg. "Bring it on," she muttered through clenched teeth. Meanwhile, Trini finished her climb from the balcony and rushed to meet her clay welcoming committee.

The two girls took on the putties fearlessly. Kim's fighting style, in particular, had improved greatly. It was an intermingling of martial arts and gymnastics, but both styles of movement had been deeply refined, and Tommy found himself in awe of the ferocity that she used against the putties. Trini's style had become more direct and strong, and yet somehow more graceful at the same time. Not a single putty caught her off-guard.

As the girls took on the creatures, Goldar came creeping out of the shadows. He paused when he saw the two young women being attacked by his master's drones – and laughed.

"My Lord," he said to Zedd, spreading his wings as he approached. "Would you like me to finish them off?"

"Not yet, Goldar. Let the putties wear them down. Then we'll finish them."

"Goldar, you had better not touch a single hair on her head," Tommy growled.

Goldar turned to face his old enemy. "Don't you mean 'their' head, black ranger? I'd hate to think that you'd only protect one."

"Easy, Goldar. We'll have our victory in time. Watch these fools – I'm going to go check on our friend Mesogog." Lord Zedd stalked towards the other end of the cell and disappeared into the darkness. In the meantime, the number of putties in the room had dwindled significantly, and Trini seized the opportunity to rush towards the cell door. Kira jumped towards the inside of the door, trying to do anything she could to help this mystery woman free her and her friends.

Meanwhile Kimberly set her sights on a gray creature standing directly in front of the cage. She ran at him full force, but instead of attacking, she jumped and twist-flipped over his head. She kicked him forcefully from behind and turned to face her target – Goldar.

"Goldar… Good to see you again," she muttered sarcastically.

"Kimmie! Have I ever told you that you were always my favorite ranger to attack?"

"Give it up, Goldar," she said, tossing her hair out of her face and over her shoulder.

"Why? It's been such a long time! We have so much to catch up on."

Tommy studied Goldar suspiciously. He was up to something.

Kimberly and Goldar stared intensely at each other – Kim still actively avoiding eye contact with Tommy, and Goldar gauging his opponent's reaction. He pushed further.

"I know! Let's talk about your break-up with Tommy," Goldar snickered.

Kim's eyes narrowed to slits and her body visibly tensed up. The most noticeable reaction, though, was in the tips of her fingers. They were glowing a bright pink color, and small sparks were leaping from them.

Trini whirled around from the hopeless lock. "Kim!" she said, motioning towards her energy-filled hands.

"I know," Kimberly said, clenching her teeth on concentration. Tommy didn't notice, however. He was busy watching for Zedd to return –which he did.

"Yes, Miss Kimberly," Lord Zedd snickered wickedly as he walked up behind her, putting her in the unfortunate position of being directly between the two vile creatures. "Let's talk about that."

At this point, Kimberly lost some degree of her control and the pink force made its way up her arms. At this point, Tommy finally noticed the power engulfing her muscular figure. He stood wide-eyed and in complete shock.

"Is it the Falcon Oracle?" Hayley inquired softly from behind him. Tommy nodded without turning to face her, unable to speak.

"Huh? My Lord!" Goldar called, confused.

Zedd grunted. "That's not supposed to happen! We destroyed… Argh!! Well, let's see if this does the trick!" At that moment, both Zedd and Goldar fired bright beams at Kimberly – Zedd from his staff, Goldar from his sword.

"Kimberly!" Tommy called, finally finding his voice.

Kimberly's hands shot up to either side and sent her own energy beams to meet theirs. She now stood facing the cage, arms fully extended to either side, holding off two lethal blasts.

Sweat dripped down Kimberly's rosy cheeks, and her hair clung to her damp forehead. Trini could see her knees starting to tremble underneath her jeans. She was breathing heavily, and neither she nor Trini knew how long she'd be able to hold off the attacks. Lord Zedd and Goldar, of course, knew she couldn't hold them off forever, and they maintained their assault continuously.

"Kim, don't let them get to you!" Tommy called desperately, moving down the wall of iron bars until he was directly in front of her. "Don't let them win!"

Kimberly did not respond to Tommy, but instead slowly turned her head in Trini's direction. Her arms were getting tired. "Trini," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Get out of the way!"

Trini quickly ducked out of the way. Kira took her cue from Trini's movement and also moved away from the cell door.

Kimberly closed her eyes and pictured Tommy's face, which she hadn't seen in nearly ten years. She opened her eyes and found his eyes still gazing intently on her, clouded with worry. She took a deep breath and swung both arms towards the front, redirecting all three energy beams toward the cell lock with an incredible degree of precision.

"Cease fire!" Goldar yelled. But it was too late.

When the smoke cleared, the padlock on the cell door had been obliterated.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Jason, Zack, Ethan and Trent made their way down a dark corridor mostly in silence. The lighted area they had discovered was actually a long, winding staircase, and when they climbed it they came out in a dark hallway. It was obvious that this hallway was inside a building of some sort, instead of being underground like they had been before. The conversation had faded away, leaving the four of them in a content silence.

Suddenly, Trent spoke up. "So, why are you guys here? We've kind of ignored that in this whole… mess."

Zack assumed Trent was speaking about him and Jason, and took the initiative to answer him. "We made a promise. We all did. Dr. Oliver has told you about Zordon, right?"

Trent and Ethan nodded, and there was a long pause as they all waited for Zack to continue.

"Right before he left to head back to his home planet, he contacted the original five rangers. That's me, Jason, Kim, Trini, and Billy. He told us about a vision he had of the future. It was an abstract vision, from the sounds of it, but in the future he saw several of the evil leaders joining forces to form an evil empire. Zordon said the empire would be impossible to beat with any ranger team, and he asked us to intervene before the empire was formed. We all took a vow to return to Angel Grove and try to stop the empire from forming if we thought the events Zordon prophesized were taking place - no matter where our lives took us."

Ethan's eyes were wide. "Does that mean the empire is forming now? And, how did you know to come back now?"

"Well," Jason interjected, "we _think_ the empire may be forming now, because we all seemed to receive a signal. All of our signs were different. For example, I had a dream where I met Zordon in his human form, and he told me to return. I wasn't sure if it was really THE SIGN I was waiting for, but just to be safe I headed to Angel Grove. Without communicating with each other, all five of us ended up in Angel Grove this morning, so we figured that was the only 'sign' we needed."

"We took that as our cue to track down the latest ranger team – you guys. Jason knew Tommy was leading a ranger team now, so we drove down to Reefside and showed up at his house… right after all of you disappeared into that portal," Zack added.

"So how did you get in?"

Jason smiled. "We have Billy. He took care of it for us. He tracked _your_ energy signatures, just like you tracked Hayley's. After he tracked it, he discovered the portal actually led to a tunnel beneath an abandoned theater house in downtown Reefside. So two of us took the portal, and two of us came in with a more… conventional method."

"That's where we are?" Trent inferred.

"Yep. And I'm betting one of these panels leads us into the room where they're holding everyone, and where Kim and Trini entered the theater. So start searching!" Jason directed.

Immediately, the four men began tapping the large panels that made up the walls to the corridor. Jason wasn't exactly sure what they were looking for, but he was hoping they would stumble upon it, somehow.

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"Kira, go!" Tommy yelled, but she was already two steps ahead of him, and she was swinging the now unlocked gate open. Connor was close behind her.

"Let's take the gold guy," he whispered to her as they made their way out the door. She nodded in agreement.

Tommy was still trying to get over the fact that Kimberly still had the Falcon Oracle powers. He had lost access to the powers the day he received the heartbreaking letter from her that ended their three year relationship. Did it have something to do with the fact that _she_ dumped _him_? If so, that hardly seemed fair. He lost the greatest powers and the greatest love of his life all at once, and it was a huge blow to his heart, let alone his morale.

He shook his head. There would be time for pondering this later, and he'd have to interrogate Kimberly about it as soon as they got out of here. For now he had to keep her safe, along with Hayley. He turned to the latter. "Get yourself out of this cage and move along the perimeter of the room to that spot under the balcony. Stay there. We'll cover you." She nodded, showing she understood.

Tommy turned to see Kim lean down and place her hands on her knees. The massive energy blast she just directed had taken a lot out of her, and she needed to pause to catch her breath. She only dropped her guard for a second or two, but it was enough time for Zedd to lunge for her.

"No!" called Tommy as he barreled out of the cell. He leapt clear over a hunched Connor, ran behind Kira, and caught Zedd's arm just as it was about to strike Kim in the back of the head. Kim spun to face him, unaware of the danger she had just been in. She found Tommy blocking Zedd's blow, his face filled with rage. "This is between me and you, Zedd," Tommy snarled.

Kimberly opened her mouth to thank Tommy for rescuing her, once again, but he was intensely focused on Zedd. Zedd used his free hand to pound his staff on the ground and call for more putties. She ducked away and joined with Trini to take on the putties.

Meanwhile, Kira and Connor were holding Goldar at bay. Hayley watched them as she made her way along the far wall. They certainly weren't taking Goldar down, but they were definitely holding their own. Hayley was impressed with how far they had come in the relatively short time, and their fighting ability appeared to catch Goldar off-guard. He clearly wasn't anticipating the combined force that Connor and Kira could put forth. She made a mental note to mention her commendations to Tommy later.

And then, catching all three of them off-guard, the panel in the wall behind Goldar came crashing down on him. Kira and Connor just barely managed to stay out of the way. Everyone in the room turned their attention to the sound, and to the four young men stepping through the opening and carefully over a knocked-out Goldar.

"Hey guys," Jason said as he led the group in. "Did we miss the party?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Of course you didn't! In fact, the party has just begun!" Mesogog declared, emerging from the corner of the room. He raised one arm in the air and a crew of tyranodrones joined the putties in the room.

"Let's go, guys!" Jason called. The four men got to work immediately, taking on the army of putties and tyranodrones. Kira and Connor joined them, seeing as how Goldar was passed out on the floor. The evil creatures came on strong, but the rangers and former rangers met them with fierce opposition.

After knocking her third tyranodrone to the floor, Kimberly returned her attention to the battle going on between Tommy and Zedd. They were having it out with viciousness and strength, and they turned out to be a pretty even match for each other – that is, until Zedd decided to add emotional attacks to the physical ones.

"Tommy! What a weak warrior you've become! I'll tell you, you really lost your fighting spirit the day you got that letter," he roared between blows.

_No_, Kim thought to herself. _Don't do this to him!_

Tommy took several steps backwards and dropped back into fighting stance. Behind Kimberly, the war against the putties and tyranodrones waged on. Kimberly stood frozen, watching the confrontation between the large red monster and her former lover.

"It was like your soul fled from you as fast as your girlfriend did!" Zedd cackled as he watched Tommy slowly crumble.

"No! That's not true!" Kimberly cried, diving towards Zedd and Tommy – failing to notice Goldar pulling himself up from the ground. Goldar sprung from the shambles of the wall and grabbed at Kimberly just as she reached Zedd. The two monsters tackled the petite woman and pinned her against the wall of the cage, holding her just slightly off the ground. Her ands and arms glowed pink, ready to attack.

"Kimberly!" Tommy yelled, pulling himself out of his remorse over the loss of his heart and pushing forward. Goldar pulled himself from the former pink ranger and caught Tommy off-guard, tackling him and pinning him to the ground. Goldar pulled his sword from his waist and held it at Tommy's throat. Zedd pulled Kimberly forward and wrapped one disgusting arm around her neck. She lifted her hands and prepared to fire at Goldar, hoping to free Tommy from his grasp. Mesogog wailed with laughter from the corner.

"No, no Kimmie," Goldar said, panting. "You know that I can push my sword straight through him in the time it takes you to fire!"

Kimberly dropped her stance with a sigh and withdrew the energy from her hands as best she could. The room seemed to freeze around her. In a room full of power rangers and ex-power rangers she still managed to get captured. This did not bode well for her or Tommy.

"My Lord!" Goldar called. "Get rid of the other rangers! They may interfere!"

"No!" Mesogog called. "That's not the plan! We need them! We need to destroy them!"

Zedd cackled. "I'm changing the plans, Mesogog! Both of these rangers are stronger than you'll ever be! We need them on our team."

Goldar turned his head so he was facing Tommy. Their faces were only a few inches apart. "Join us, Tommy. Join us, and we'll let your pretty little Kimberly go!"

Tommy grunted. He was still clearly trying to figure out a way to get away. He knew that if he could free himself, Kim could take care of Zedd with the oracle powers.

"Yes, Tommy, do consider your options carefully," Zedd hissed, tightening his grip around Kimberly's neck.

Kimberly leaned her head back, gazing at the ceiling as if it would grant some sort of solution to her current predicament. _Think, Kim. There's gotta be a way out of this!_ She began mentally scanning her repertoire of Falcon Oracle powers. With all the power that they granted her, surely there was something besides the offensive power that would help her out.

"My Lord! The other rangers!" Goldar yelled, noticing Jason rapidly progressing towards Zedd. Zedd lifted his staff and aimed them in the general direction of the other rangers.

"No!" yelled Mesogog. "I won't let you ruin our plans to enslave and destroy them!"

"I MAKE MY OWN PLANS!" Zedd bellowed, causing every person and creature in the room to freeze. He whipped his staff around, aimed it directly at Mesogog, and fired. The ray hit the beast dead on, and a sickening cry filled the room as the scaly beast was reduced to a pile of dust on the floor.

"He just took out Mesogog!" Connor yelled triumphantly as the tyranodrones disappeared around him.

"Yeah, great. So now all we have to worry about is this crazy red guy who destroys everything he touches, and a flying gold-plated lion," Kira snapped back.

Zedd returned his attention to the main floor, where Connor, Kira, Ethan, Trent, Jason, Zack and Trini were finishing off the last of the putties. Lifting his staff, he yelled, "Be gone!"

Kimberly shrieked again, still tight in his grasp, as the top of the staff exploded in color and the room filled with an ominous fog. The fog was fleeting, but when it lifted the other rangers had vanished, leaving Kim, Tommy, Zedd and Goldar alone in the giant, empty room.

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The dino thunder team, along with Jason, Zack, Trini and Hayley, landed hard in an alley way between two old buildings in downtown Reefside. None of them had managed to land on their feet.

"What happened?" Ethan said, pulling himself up from the ground between two trash cans.

Trent leapt to his feet and rushed to find Kira. He found her several stories up on a fire escape. "I'm okay," she groaned, as she pulled herself to her feet and climbed down.

Jason offered his hand to Zack, and once standing the two of them pulled Hayley and Trini to their feet.

"You guys!" called a voice familiar to some of them. A tall man with sandy blonde hair dressed in some sort of uniform ran up to them from the street. "Are you alright?"

"Billy!" Trini exclaimed. "We don't know what happened! One minute we were fighting, and then somehow Zedd teleported us out here."

"Yeah, he locked down the entryway to the theater," Billy said, motioning to the building to his right. I can't maintain a portal or get us in through any of the doors anymore."

"They've still got Dr. Oliver and Kimberly," Ethan said.

The group cast glances at each other uneasily. "Tommy's strong. He's gotten himself out of way worse situations. And he definitely won't let anything happen to Kim," Jason said, trying to put the group at ease.

"And Kim's got some major ass-kicking ability," Trini added. The group gawked at her uncharacteristic use of language, to which she shrugged and said, "What? She does!"

"Hey, we're missing someone," Hayley added, doing a mental headcount.

"I'm in here!" yelled Connor from inside a large dumpster towards the back of the alley.

Kira, Trent and Ethan giggled and rushed to pull their teammate out, while Hayley formally introduced herself to the former ranger team.

"I don't know how to get us back in to the theater," Hayley said to Billy and the others. "But we do have one advantage out here." The group looked on questioningly. "Now that we're out of the evil realm, they should be able to morph," she said, motioning to the teenagers that now stood knee-deep in trash.

"That just might do the trick," Jason said, hopefully.

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All the commotion had given Kimberly the time she needed to develop a plan. She knew it was a long shot, but she was staring at Tommy being slowly crushed by Goldar and his own emotions, and she knew it was their only chance.

"Take me, Zedd," she cried.

"No!" Tommy called.

Kimberly ignored him. "Zedd, you've always wanted me as your evil queen. And I have an unstoppable power. I'd be more of an asset to your team. Take me and let Tommy go."

Tommy tried to shift positions under Goldar. He looked nervously at Kim._She must be planning something, right? She must have some trick up her sleeve. Surely she wouldn't sacrifice herself for me… would she?_

"Goldar, what do you think?" Zedd said, in an uncharacteristic display of indecision.

"I think that could work out nicely," he hissed, leering at Kimberly.

"Tommy," Kim said softly. Tommy was taken aback, realizing that this was the first time she had spoken directly to him since she had burst into the room. "Tommy, I'm sorry."

Tommy turned and looked directly at her. Their eyes locked, and if Tommy would have been standing his knees would have buckled. She was having a strange effect on him, and he fought to stay focused on her words.

"Tommy, I'm sorry for everything," she continued. "I never should have hurt you. You've always been so strong, and I've always been your Achilles heel. Let me go now. You have a ranger team to lead, and I'll only get in the way. I love you. I never stopped loving you." Kimberly felt her eyes well up with tears. _Good,_Kim thought. _Just keep talking._

Kimberly's monologue was deep and heartfelt, and had anyone else witnessed it they would have been moved by her touching confessions and her obvious love for Tommy. Unfortunately, though, Tommy didn't hear a word of it.

From the moment he made smoldering eye contact with Kimberly, he felt his world start to spin, and his vision went blurry. He tried to stay focused, but the last thing he heard her say was 'I'm sorry for everything.' Then blackness started to creep in on the edges of his field of vision, and he heard Kim say one more thing – only, it didn't come from her mouth. He could feel her in his head, and she spoke to him gently and soothingly.

_There's something I need to show you, Tommy._

Then Tommy's world went black.


	10. Chapter 10

_I think I may be starting to take some liberties with plot and timeline. Hopefully it's not too unrealistic. This chapter and the next are the two I've been dying to write since I started! Enjoy!_

**Chapter 10**

Tommy came to in another place. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, and his mind raced trying to figure out where he was. There was about half an inch of water on the floor, and the room smelled musty. There were a couple of portholes up near the high ceiling, but other than that no windows. As his vision cleared, he realized there were two other people in the room, but neither one of them paid attention to him in the least. It was if he weren't even there.

When the two figures spoke, though, everything fell into place. He suddenly knew where he was and how he got there. Close to the end of her run as a ranger, Kimberly had developed another power with the Falcon Oracle. (Dulcea had explained that 'developed' was not the right word for it, as all of the powers were there all along. They each had to learn to access and control each one. However, when each new power appeared, Tommy and Kim were always caught by surprise, as if the skill had just appeared out of thin air.) This new power allowed her to let Tommy witness things she had experienced. It was almost as if she pulled Tommy into her own mind and then replayed her memories. Dulcea explained that this was simply an advancement of the telepathy the two of them already experienced occasionally, and in actuality, Tommy should have been able to do it too. He just had not mastered that particular ability yet.

Kimberly had only done this once, and she had done it unintentionally. It happened while she was lying in the hospital bed after her fall from the balance beam. When she woke up to find Tommy there with her, the two experienced a rush of emotion. As Kimberly began to speak, Tommy found himself watching her practicing on the beam, then inevitably falling and hitting her head. He watched the whole thing play out, yet was powerless to stop it. He snapped back to the present mere seconds later, but was shaken by the experience. He explained to Kimberly what had happened, and she was entirely unaware that she had caused the vision. After later checking with Zordon, he confirmed that this was an extension of the Falcon Oracle, and with practice the two intertwined souls would be able to control and use the power at will.

However, it was soon afterwards that Kimberly departed for Florida and then broke up with Tommy, causing him to lose access to the power. Neither one of them had had the chance to refine this gift. And Kimberly was using it on him now, he was almost certain. This meant his consciousness was in this dark room, but his body was still pinned under Goldar, and he was only able to watch the events unfold. Why on earth would Kimberly pull this trick out of her hat now?

He watched the two people in the corner of the room. One was a male, tall and muscular, dressed all in black. The other was a short woman with brown hair, dressed in black shorts and a pink tank top. The man was boosting the woman up the wall towards one of the portholes.

Tommy was watching Jason and Kimberly in the underbelly of Divatox's ship.

Tommy was sure there was a reason Kimberly had chosen this scene to show him, and he moved closer to hear what was going on. Neither Jason nor Kimberly was aware of his presence. Kimberly was busy trying to listen to what was going on above them.

"My queen! You know I would never question you, but…" came a voice from above.

"But what?" snarled a female voice that Tommy recognized as Divatox.

"The two humans we've captured are former Power Rangers! Aren't you worried about them escaping?" Tommy assumed this was Rygog, or one of her many other henchmen.

"How dare you question me! Of course they're not going to escape! You said it yourself – they're _former_ rangers!"

"But one of them possesses the power of the Falcon Oracle!"

Divatox screeched in laughter, and a loud crash from above meant that she had probably stricken whichever creature had been speaking. "No, no, no, Rygog. I spoke with Rita this morning. They've taken care of that… problem…" she said maniacally.

"What??" he heard Kim whisper. Jason moved as if to bring Kim down from the wall, but she stopped him. "I need to know what they're talking about!" she hissed.

"What do you mean, my emperoress?" said a cowardly voice.

Divatox sighed. "Those powers were based on Tommy and Kimberly's re-la-tion-ship," she said, as if she were talking to a four-year-old. "Rita and her old man destroyed those powers when they destroyed the relationship with those letters."

"WHAT?!?" howled Kimberly as she toppled from her spot atop Jason. She was back on her feet almost as soon as she hit the ground, arms and legs flailing wildly. Jason grabbed her around her waist, and she struggled to get free.

Tommy froze. _Did I just hear that correctly?_ He repressed the urge to have a reaction similar to Kimberly's.

"Jason, let go!" she screamed. "I swear, when I get out of here…"

Jason shoved her against the wall, trying his best to restrain her. Her struggling had ceased, for the most part, but her body was now quivering and she was bathed in sweat. "Kim, listen to me! Listen!" he said firmly, as he established eye contact with her.

"Jason," she said breathlessly, her voice shaking uncontrollably. "Did you just hear that?"

"Yes, I did."

"They broke us up! They sent me that letter!"

Tommy's mind was still reeling when he heard Kim say this. _That letter… So Kimberly received a letter, too?_ It was taking him a moment to catch up. Thankfully, Jason voiced the question that Tommy was dying to ask.

"What letter?"

"The letter that said Tommy couldn't keep the long-distance relationship alive," Kim said, panting softly as her body continued to tremble. Jason loosened his grasp slightly, but did not let go. "It said he wanted to be with Kat."

"What? That's not true! Tommy never would have said that. Besides, he got a letter from you!" Jason said determinedly.

"That's what I'm saying! That – thing - up there just said that Rita and Zedd sent us _both_ letters! I don't know anything about a letter to Tommy."

Jason looked deep in thought. He was probably trying to digest the information just as Tommy was.

"I lost my oracle powers that day!" Kim continued. "It was the most painful day of my life!" Tommy sympathized, knowing the pain that losing the powers had caused him as well. Kimberly tried to regain her composure, but she was sweating profusely now, and her skin was ghastly pale. Tommy stood in awe of the events unfolding before him. "Why would they want to break us up?"

"I don't know, Kim. I promise you, though, when we get out of here, we're going to find out. But to do that, we have to get out of here, and to get out of here, we can't be impulsive. I'm sure the rangers are looking for us, and when Tommy finds us we can clear the whole mess up. Just stay with me until then."

Kim nodded and pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "I'm with you," she said gently.

Kimberly seemed to have calmed down, but Tommy was now irate. Kim had gotten a letter saying that he wanted to leave her for Kat? When did that happen? And how is it that he didn't know about it before now? Clearly, Kim wanted him to know it now… But why? And why did she wait so long?

The thought that their breakup had been a complete misunderstanding sickened him, and he tried to fight off the nausea in the pit of his stomach. He felt his vision start to blur, and he knew present-Kim was 'moving' him somewhere. His vision faded and went to black before he could see the pink swirls forming around past-Kim's wrists and ankles, and he missed Jason's wide eyes and Kimberly's startled declaration.

"It's coming back!"

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His vision cleared and he found himself standing in the back of what appeared to be a fiery lair. It didn't take him long to figure out where he was this time. In fact, he had only jumped forward a few hours from his previous 'vision'. He was standing behind Lerigot's cage in Maligore's lair. Just past the cage stood Kimberly. She was facing away from him, but he could tell from her stance that he was looking at Evil Kimberly.

"Into the fire," she was chanting softly. Tommy looked past her to see himself and Jason embroiled in battle over the flaming pit.

Lerigot reached forward, and suddenly Kimberly was bathed in a soft yellow glow. _That must be what turned her back to our side,_ Tommy thought for himself. He immediately began searching for the significance of this scene. What was here that Kim wanted him to see?

He found his significance soon after. Kim shook her head and gasped at the sight ahead of her – Evil Jason pinning past-Tommy over the blazing inferno.

_Man,_ thought Tommy when he saw his past self. _What was I thinking with that hair?_ His hand unconsciously moved to the short spikes atop his head, and he returned his focus to Kimberly. Her body had visibly tensed and Tommy saw her hands begin to glow a soft pink color.

_This is it!__This is when she started using the powers again!_

Kim raised one arm and closed her eyes briefly. "Forgive me," she said softly, and let loose an energy blast. Tommy could tell just from looking at it that it was quite weak. He remembered this scene, though, from when he lived it the first time, and he couldn't remember seeing this blast. So where was it going?

He quickly got his answer.

The blast made contact with Jason, driving him up and over past-Tommy's head and into the fire. Tommy watched himself roll and catch Jason by the arm to prevent him from falling to his fiery death. At this instant, Kimberly took off running toward the center of the room, and present-Tommy stepped forward to get a closer view. He watched her lunge forward onto the platform next to past-Tommy, and he didn't need to hear her to know what she said.

"I'm with you."

Tommy remembered this moment. He had processed this statement as her way of saying she was good again, that she was no longer evil. Knowing what he knew now, though, he realized those words were so much deeper. His vision went blurry again, and he prepared himself to leave. He knew what happened next, anyway.

Many of his questions had been answered, but there were several new ones popping up._ So, Kimberly found out that we were broken up by Zedd and Rita. That caused her to regain control of the Falcon Oracle. Simple enough. But…_

_Why didn't I get control of the powers at the same time?_

_Why don't I have access to the powers now?_

_Why didn't Kim tell me she had the powers?_

But Tommy's most important question was,

_Why did we spend so many years apart if we never really broke up in the first place?_


	11. Chapter 11

_This one's a long one, with plenty of angst and drama. Lots of questions being answered. Enjoy!_

**Chapter 11**

Kimberly paused and took a deep breath. She needed to continue talking, but she was running out of things to say. Furthermore, showing all of these things to Tommy was forcing her to relive all of these old memories, and it was incredibly painful. She had done everything she could to _not_ think about Tommy or any of these events over the past eight years. She was working hard to keep her emotions in check, but she was holding back tears. Tommy's consciousness was not in his body, and the Tommy that Goldar had pinned to the ground was completely defenseless. Luckily, Zedd allowed her to continue pouring her heart out. _He probably gets some sort of sick pleasure out of all this angst,_ she thought to herself. She concentrated on what she wanted Tommy to see next, then she continued speaking.

"I've been lost without you, Tommy…"

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Tommy blinked and found himself on a sandy coastline, heading up towards some thick trees. He was walking at the end of a long caravan of people, with Kimberly and Jason directly ahead of him. They were engrossed in quiet conversation. It took Tommy a minute to recognize where they were. Then he saw himself up ahead of the pair, and he knew. They were walking back towards town after dismantling the megazord after the Muranthias incident. Tommy inched closer to Kim and Jason to try to hear what they were saying.

"You've gotta tell him, Kim."

"I will, I will. I just have to wait for the right moment."

"What exactly is the right moment?"

"Well, he's gonna go crazy! You know he is. Plus he's going to go through all that stuff to get the oracle powers back. I just need to wait until things get settled."

"The longer you wait, the crazier he's gonna get."

Present-Tommy wiped sweat from his forehead. He didn't remember it being so hot that day. He agreed with Jason. Clearly, she had waited a LONG time to tell him… and he _was_ ready to go _really_crazy.

"Jason, I will, it's just…"

"Everything okay, guys?"

Tommy watched as his past self turned to the two to make sure they were okay. He remembered this now. It felt like Kim wanted to say something, but at the time Tommy had just chalked it up to awkwardness. Besides the few words exchanged while pulling Jason from the pit, they hadn't spoken since they broke up.

"Yeah, we're fine," Kimberly said in a perky tone. Jason kicked her – hard. She fought to ignore him.

"Okay. Hey, thanks for your help back there," past-Tommy said, making direct eye contact with Kim.

She smiled sweetly. "No problem." Another nudge from Jason.

The group continued on in silence, present-Tommy still bringing up the rear. He used his shirt to wipe sweat from his face. _Man, it's hot out here!_

He followed for a few more minutes, watching Jason and Kim continue to argue. Finally, the two of them stopped.

Kim took a deep breath. "Hey, Tommy!"

Past-Tommy turned to face her, and present-Tommy bit his lip in anticipation._This is it. Tell me, Kim. Please tell me.__Please, please, please tell me._

"What's up?" past-Tommy said nonchalantly.

Kimberly opened her mouth to speak, and present-Tommy felt his stomach drop. He remembered what happened here. "No!" he yelled out loud, futilely. No one could hear him.

A tall, blonde woman came darting from ahead. She wrapped her arms around past-Tommy and kissed him.

"We did it!" she cried joyously when they finally broke their embrace. "Alpha just called and said he was able to send Lerigot and his family home! Isn't that great?" She flung her arms back around Tommy's neck.

Present-Tommy watched in horror as Kimberly froze. Her smile faded and she turned to look at Jason. Jason covered his face with his hands and then ran them through his hair, avoiding eye contact with Kim.

Present-Tommy looked at his past self with Kat and his hands began to tremble. He remembered all of this now, and what terrified him the most was how he remembered feeling – good. He certainly hadn't been _trying_ to rub his relationship with Kat in Kim's face, but there was a small part of him that had found pleasure in showing off his new girlfriend. When she had kissed him, he made no move to stop her and had returned the kiss eagerly. After all, Kimberly dumped him – or so he thought.

"Was there something you were saying, Kim?" past-Tommy said, redirecting his attention back to the shocked woman, slowly releasing Kat from his embrace.

"Um… I just wanted to thank you for saving us," Kim stammered. Jason sighed loudly.

"No problem," Tommy said, locking hands with Kat.

Present-Tommy threw his hands up in the air exasperatedly. He badly wanted to literally kick himself. He wished he could say something to Kimberly, or himself, or even Kat for that matter. It was excruciating to witness all of this and be powerless to change it.

He squinted as he realized his vision was beginning to blur. A wave of nausea hit him, and he leaned over and placed his shaky hands on his knees to steady himself as the sight of Jason and Kimberly walking away slowly faded.

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Back in Zedd's arms, Kimberly's tears began to fall. _One more,_ she told herself. _Just one more, then bring Tommy back._ She had, however, stopped talking, indicating to Zedd that she was done saying goodbye and ready to join the forces of evil. She felt his grip tighten as he started to pull her backwards, and she focused some of her energy on her hands, causing them to glow once more. _One more memory. Another second, and Tommy will be back. Just be sure you're ready._

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_

Tommy's vision cleared and he found himself standing in a very familiar place. He was now at the edge of the lake, a place where he and Kimberly had enjoyed many tender moments. It was also the same place he had come the day he received the letter from "Kimberly" and had lost his Falcon Oracle powers.

He stood facing the water, and he allowed the scene to calm him for a moment. His hands were still quivering, but the nausea had passed. He knew, though, that the water was not what Kimberly brought him here to see, so he turned slowly – and found that he was only inches in front of Kimberly herself.

He wasn't sure if this was the same day as the Muranthias experience, but he didn't think she had stayed in town much longer after that, so he assumed that it was. She had clearly gone somewhere to get cleaned up, and Tommy was in awe of her natural beauty. She was wearing a white tank top, denim shorts and white sneakers. Her caramel-colored hair fell freely over her nearly bare shoulders. She sat on the rock ledge - the same rock ledge where she found Tommy right after he lost his green ranger powers - leaning back on her arms with her legs extended and crossed at the ankles. She wasn't crying now, but it was clear by looking at her that she had been recently.

_Her face is still gorgeous, even when it's streaked with tears,_ Tommy thought. He wanted nothing more than to scoop her off the ground and wrap his arms around her.

"Hey, I thought this might be where you ran off to."

Tommy turned to see Jason approaching. Kimberly turned too, and forced a small smile. "How'd you guess?" she said facetiously.

"Old habits die hard. Anyway, we missed you after the karate tournament."

"Yeah, I couldn't stay and watch Tommy and Kat. It just hurts too much."

Tommy felt like a dagger pierced his heart, and he felt his own eyes begin to tear up.

The two sat in silence for a moment, Jason wrapping one arm around her to try to console her. Then Kim spoke up.

"So even though the letter I got was fake, the stuff it said was true."

Jason sighed. "It's not like that, Kim. He didn't _want_ to leave you for Kat. But after he thought he lost you, the two of them got together," he said as gently as he could.

Tommy crossed his arms over his chest and looked up at the sky, hoping to prevent his tears from falling. His knees were getting wobbly. _I can't bear to watch any more of this. Bring me back, Kimberly. Please bring me back!_ his mind shouted.

"I don't understand, Kim…" Jason continued. "Why don't you just pull him aside and tell him what happened? I can guarantee you he'd break it off with Kat in a heartbeat and come running back to you. The guy still gets all distracted and crazy-like any time anyone mentions your name."

"Yes, Kim," Tommy said out loud, knowing full well no one could hear him. "Tell me, and I'm yours. No doubt about it. Kat filled a space in my heart that you left, but it was never the same." His voice was shaky now, and it was hard to continue, but it was starting to feel cathartic. "I lost a piece of my soul the day you left, Kim, and I'd do anything to get it back. Please, TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW!" he pleaded uselessly.

Kimberly shook her head at Jason. "I know he would. That's the problem. It's not fair."

"Not fair to whom? Kat?"

"Well, yes, but more importantly, not fair to Tommy. My life is in Florida now. By telling him all of this, I'm telling him to give up a relationship which he's perfectly happy with for a relationship with someone on the other side of the country. He seems very happy with Kat. What right do I have to screw that up?"

"He loves _you_, Kim. He may seem happy with Kat, but he's not nearly as happy as he was with you."

"That's exactly it… how happy he _was_ with me, not how happy he _will be._ Tommy and I are in the past. He and Kat are in the present, and that's how it should be."

"No, Kim, that's NOT how it should be!" Tommy shouted. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to stay standing much longer. His knees were threatening to give way, and his whole body was trembling now. He watched Kim pull herself up off the ground.

"I gotta get going. I need to repack, and my flight takes off first thing in the morning."

Jason stood and watched her begin to walk away. "What about the powers?"

Kim sighed and glanced down at her hands as they flashed pink. "I guess that's my burden to bear." She started walking towards the parking lot. Tommy's legs wouldn't hold him anymore, and he sank to his knees.

"Jason, promise me you won't tell him any of this," she said, continuing to walk away.

"Okay, but if he asks about you, which I know he will, what _do_ you want me to tell him?"

Kim turned back to Jason and paused. Tommy was convinced she had never looked more beautiful, with the soft glow of the evening sun illuminating her delicate face, and the gentle breeze tossing her hair just slightly.

"Tell him I lo-"

_Say it, Kim, please say it…_

"Tell him I want him to be happy," she stated firmly, with a small smile. Jason nodded in agreement, and she turned to walk away.

Tommy buried his head in his hands. He knew this was the moment Kimberly had truly walked out of his life. He had lost his powers numerous times over the years, and none of those times made him feel as powerless and empty as he did right now.

He remained there by the lake, slumped and sorrowful for a few moments, when suddenly a jolt of energy overtook him. Every muscle in his body tensed, and he let loose a wild cry right before his sight vanished once again.

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Tommy's scream carried with him back into the present, where he was trapped beneath Goldar and Kimberly was slowly being led away by Zedd. As he yelled in anguish, a large white beam shot from his free hand, knocking Goldar off of him and into the corner of the room. He scrambled to his feet, still breathing hard, and rushed to help Kimberly.

Kim, however, had been planning on exactly this and had prepared herself. The moment she heard Tommy's cry, both outside and inside her head, she fired backwards towards Lord Zedd, driving him to the ground. Her tears were falling rapidly, and she struggled to stay in control of her own power. She turned to look at Tommy. He was breathing in short pants and gasps, and his face was ghostly pale.

_Let it back in,_ Tommy heard Kimberly's voice say in his head as he made eye contact with her. _Take back the power, Tommy._

He nodded, then turned his attention back to Goldar and began firing white energy beams in rapid succession.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

With Tommy taking care of Goldar, Kimberly turned her attention back to Zedd, who was pulling himself up from the floor. Her emotions were running wild now, and she was trying her best to keep them and her powers under control. She felt the rage that she had kept bottled up all these years come to life in her chest, and she narrowed her eyes and glared at the approaching villain.

"You did this to us," she accused. "All of this is your fault." She raised one brightly-glowing hand as he raised his staff to strike her. With a mighty scream she released the largest ball of energy she was capable of conjuring. The blow tossed Zedd into the air, and when he landed he remained still.

Kimberly took a long, deep breath. That shot had taken a lot out of her. She realized the room was silent, and she turned back to find Goldar in a similar heap on the floor, and Tommy staring directly at her. His face was stoic, and despite the connection that the Falcon Oracle provided, she found that she could not read his expression. She had no idea what he was thinking.

"Kimberly," he finally said, softly. He reached for her and pulled her into a strong hug. She buried her face in his t-shirt and once again felt tears start to fall.

Tommy placed one hand to the back of her neck and gently rubbed near her hairline, a sensation that sent a warm feeling down her spine. His other arm wrapped strongly around her waist. He felt both of her hands on the small of his back, and her arms rested around his waist as though they were naturally meant to be placed there. He buried his face in her dark hair, and the scent brought back a warm rush of memories.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly between sobs.

"Shh…" he said soothingly. "You have nothing to be sorry for. This is all Rita and Zedd's fault."

"I should have told you right away."

Tommy sighed. "And I should have fought for you. I didn't even call after I received your letter. If I would have, we would have figured it out right away and none of this ever would have happened." He wanted badly to add that he would have left Kat and come back to her in a heartbeat, but he felt that might make her feel even worse. He decided he'd save that for another conversation.

"I know you would have."

Tommy pulled back from her slightly so he could see her face. He was confused. "Would have what?"

"Left Kat," she said, tapping her head. "Be careful, Oliver. I can hear it all." Tommy smiled and squeezed her tighter.

The two stood clutching each other in silent solace for several minutes before a rustling from the back of the room caught both of their attentions. They turned to look without breaking their embrace. Lord Zedd was pulling himself up, yet again.

"Zedd," Tommy said murderously.

The red behemoth staggered towards them. It was clear that while he was conscious again, he was still injured by Kimberly's blast. "Tommy, don't be mad… We couldn't let you two possess the most awesome power in the galaxy. We did what we had to do. It's not our fault you believed all of it."

Tommy clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes. The scent of Kim's hair and the feeling of her hands on his back overcame him. Without letting go of her, he raised one arm in Zedd's direction. He could feel Kimberly's heart beating against his chest, and he could hear her in his head.

_Focus, Tommy. Concentrate. Let's do this._

With that, Tommy let loose the most concentrated, powerful, violent blast he ever had. He could feel his and Kimberly's energy coursing through him and out through his left arm. Zedd screamed an agonizing cry right before he erupted in flames. Tommy pulled his arm back down and used it to shield Kimberly from the blaze.

"I'LL GET YOU, TOMMY!!" came Zedd's scream, just before a great explosion reduced him to a pile of rubble.

Tommy turned quickly to see Goldar climbing from his spot on the floor. He pulled himself into a defensive stance. He wasn't sure that he could muster another energy blast right away.

As it turned out, he didn't need to. Goldar disappeared in a flash of light, again leaving Tommy and Kimberly alone – for the time being.

"Are you okay?" he said, pushing a strand of hair from her face.

_Of course I am,_ came the reply in his head.

_You're having way too much fun with this,_ he shot back. She giggled out loud.

"Dr. Oliver, are you alright? We heard an explosion!" Tommy turned to see his Dino Thunder team emerge on the balcony above them.

"Yeah, Connor, we're fine. Come on down here. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Hey, I want to try that thing she did to get off this balcony," Kira said, motioning at Kimberly.

"I wouldn't –" Kimberly started to object, but she was too late. All four rangers were running full force at the railing. She was actually fairly impressed with all of their abilities to get themselves over. It was the landing that was the problem.

The four rangers landed in a heap on the ground, moaning and groaning. Kimberly giggled. "I guess it's a good thing you guys are power rangers," she said, helping them up.

Connor directed the others to power down, then he turned to the open balcony door. "Hey you guys! It's safe! Come on in!"

The four other former rangers and Hayley appeared on the balcony. Tommy shouted up at them. "What, you guys too chicken to take on Zedd, so you thought you'd send the rookies in first?" he said, grinning.

"Hey, they're the ones with the ranger powers," Trini shot back.

"He seems to be in good spirits. He and Kim must have worked things out," Jason whispered quietly to Zack. He nodded in agreement. Jason glanced down at Kimberly and she winked.

"Well, you guys may like falling fifteen feet, but I'm going to use the scaffolding over here," Trini said, leading the others to the back corner where she had climbed down previously.

While the rest of the crew made the climb down from the balcony, Tommy looked over at Kimberly.

_The most important question is, where does this leave us?_ Kim heard in her head.

She smiled and replied. _It leaves us finding a way out of here without having to climb back up to the balcony._

_That's not what I meant and you know it._

The smile began to fade from her face. _I don't know, Tommy. We have a lot of talking to do. There are a lot of things we don't know about each other now. Maybe adult-Tommy doesn't even like adult-Kimberly._

Tommy cocked his head at her, as if to say, "Yeah right." Then he responded, _All I know is I can't live without you in my life again._

Kimberly smiled, and a feeling of warmth rushed over her. _We'll talk later Tommy. I don't want to lose you again either._

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_

Once the group was on the main floor, the questions started flying like crazy. Tommy shook his head. He knew they would tell the others the whole story eventually. Now just didn't feel like the right time. Tommy looked at Kimberly and then back at the rest of the group. "We took care of it. Zedd is gone."

"Gone forever? Like, 'dead' gone?"

"Yes, Trini, like 'dead' gone."

"So this evil empire thing has not and will not occur," Ethan said, trying to confirm.

Kimberly sighed. "I don't know. We took care of Zedd, and he took care of Mesogog, but Goldar got away. And we haven't heard from Rita. I'm sure she's still out there somewhere."

"Oh, come on, that gold guy was pathetic. We can take care of him," Kira said confidently.

"It's okay. We have a ranger team now, and even though Mesogog is gone we'll stay on alert for the others," Tommy said in an uncharacteristic bout of optimism. He turned to Kim. "Everything will be okay." She flashed him a full smile, the first one he'd seen yet today, and it made the hairs on his arms stand up straight. She had such a powerful effect on him. He paused to stare at her for just a momet.

_God, she looks great in those jeans,_ he thought.

_Tommy! Seriously, not now!_ Kim sent back, reminding him that she was fully aware of his thoughts. He smiled and shrugged.

"Let's head back to my place and we'll fill everyone in," Tommy said.

"There's a back door to this place. I think it's back this way," Billy said, motioning ahead.

"Then why did we come in on the balcony?" Trent pondered.

Connor shrugged. "I don't know, I thought it'd be more dramatic," he said. Kira smacked him playfully.

Tommy hung back from the group as they walked towards the back of the theater. Hayley stopped and looked back at him.

"Everything alright?" she inquired.

Tommy thought about the events of the day and grinned broadly. "Everything's just fine."

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_Stay tuned for the Tommy/Kim aftermath!!_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The group made their way out of the building and to the curbside, where Kimberly's and Billy's cars were parked. The sun was just now disappearing from the sky, and Tommy was having a hard time believing that so much had happened in just a few short hours.

"Dr. Oliver, are we heading back to your place?" Ethan asked. Tommy nodded.

The group split and headed towards the two cars. Tommy instinctually moved to ride with Kimberly. Trini, Jason and Zack climbed into Billy's SUV, leaving Hayley and the Dino Thunder team standing awkwardly in the middle.

"That is one sweet car!" Conner exclaimed, motioning towards Kim's convertible that she rented at the airport. "I'm riding in that!"

Before he could move, Hayley caught his arm. She knew about Tommy and Kimberly's past – or, at least Tommy's side of it – and she figured they had plenty to talk about. "Conner, why don't you and the others teleport back?" she said. Conner looked at her questioningly, but Kira caught the drift and agreed for him.

After the four of them vanished in flashes of brightly colored light, Hayley considered her options. She was sure Tommy would invite her to ride with them, but it would be incredibly awkward. She hardly knew the others, so she thought it would be rude to ask to ride with them. And if she tried to walk, Tommy would insist on giving her a ride._Maybe I could come up with a reason to go back through the theater and reopen that portal…_ she was thinking, when Trini's voice rang out from behind her.

"Hey Hayley, we've got plenty of room," she said knowingly.

Hayley turned and smiled, and then looked back at Tommy. He was opening the driver's side door for Kimberly to get in. He looked back at her, and she pointed at Billy's vehicle. He smiled and flashed her a thumbs up. She grinned, and then headed for the blue SUV, happy to have a friend that she knew well enough to have an entire conversation with using only hand signals.

Hayley climbed into the backseat next to Trini, with Zack on the other side. "Whoa," she said, as she observed the vehicle's interior. It was filled with a variety of monitor screens and other techno-gadgets. Hayley felt like she had died and gone to heaven. "Billy, did you do all this?"

"Yes, most of this stuff was installed before I left for Aquitar. When I left, I left my truck with my dad, but I don't think he's upgraded anything in a while. He's letting me drive it while I'm here, and I'm hoping to find some time to change out some of the outdated programming."

"Well, if you're looking for help with that, I'd definitely be interested," Hayley said, still taking in her surroundings.

"Thanks, Hayley," Billy said with a smile as he pulled away.

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Tommy pulled the passenger side door shut and turned to look at Kim. She was staring straight ahead thoughtfully, hands on the wheel as if she was ready to drive away, but the keys weren't even in the ignition yet. When she sensed Tommy's gaze, she turned to face him. The two of them stared at each other for a moment in complete silence, both in awe of the other's presence.

Finally, Tommy broke the silence. "So, let me make sure I have this straight," he said, looking down at his still-quivering hands. "You and I never really broke up?"

"Oh, we broke up alright," Kimberly said quickly – a little too quickly for Tommy's liking. He frowned, until Kimberly continued, "We just didn't have any choice in the matter."

Tommy smiled. _I'm glad to have you back, Kim,_ he thought.

_Me too._

"Stay with me tonight," Tommy said decisively. Kimberly froze for a second, then laughed.

"What's wrong? What's so funny?" he asked, with a hurt look on his face.

"No, Tommy, nothing's wrong. I'm just… remembering."

Tommy looked at her longingly, waiting for her to continue. He had been wrong about her never looking more beautiful when he saw her at the lake earlier. Now, with her dark layers of hair haphazardly framing her face, and the slight flush in her cheeks, he couldn't bring himself to look away from her. "Remembering what?" he asked gently.

"That it took you like a week and a half to ask me to a school dance, but you can ask me to sleep over in like thirty seconds."

"Nuh-uh, not thirty seconds. I've been thinking about it since you burst into that room back there. That's gotta be like an hour or something."

He could feel her looking at him intently. Then in his mind he heard,_You started thinking about me spending the night an hour ago?_

_Not like that, Kim._

She smiled, and for a fleeting second Tommy thought he sensed disappointment.

"I don't know, Tommy. We'll see. We have lots to talk about. I don't want to move too fast and screw things up."

"We do have lots to talk about, which is exactly why you should stay with me."

Kimberly bit her lip and cast another glance his way as she turned the key in the ignition. _Maybe, Tommy._

Tommy grinned as he listened to her thoughts. 'Maybe' was good enough for him.

"So are all of our friends in the dark like I've been about all of this? I mean, obviously, Jason knows what's going on, but what about the others?" Tommy asked as they cruised through downtown Reefside.

"Jason knows everything. So does Trini. I had to talk to someone. But don't be mad at them… I swore them to complete secrecy."

"I told you, Kim. I'm not mad." He did make a mental note to have some words with Jason later, though. He'd talked to Jason several times over the last few years, and even after he and Kat broke up he hadn't said a word. At least Kim had found a good confidante.

"I think Jason told Zack the basics. I don't know if he knows the details. He only had the trip from Angel Grove to here this morning to fill him in. And Billy knows nothing. He still thinks I'm cold and heartless."

"Kim…"

"Kidding. You'd better start navigating here. I'm going to end up getting us lost."


	14. Chapter 14

_I just caught a glaring plot hole in chapter 13 and fixed it... Did anyone else catch it?_

_ If you come across anything else that doesn't make sense please let me know!_**  
**

**Chapter 14**

When they returned to Tommy's house, Kimberly stepped into the bathroom to change her clothes and freshen up. She forgot how nasty monster fights made her feel. She was compelled to take a shower, but she was still adjusting to the fact that she was in Tommy's house after eight years of zero contact. A shower was pushing it a little too much.

When Kimberly stepped out of the bathroom, she was wearing a dark pink t-shirt and black athletic pants. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and she had washed most of her make-up off. She felt a little too homely, but as soon as she stepped into the living room, Tommy's eyes told her otherwise.

Tommy stood from his spot on the couch and motioned for her to sit down. "Does anyone want something to drink? Pop, beer, water…" He took orders, then disappeared to the kitchen.

The former rangers began to catch each other up on their lives over the last few years. Jason was living just outside of Angel Grove. He had opened up his own dojo, which was doing quite well. Of the six rangers, Jason had done the best job of staying in touch with everyone. He tried to talk to everyone at least once every couple of months.

Zack was up to a multitude of things. He was trying to get his acting career off the ground by attending as many open auditions in the L.A. area as possible. He was also quite the political activist, and his day job was with a non-profit organization for environmental protection. Every once in a while he'd swing into Jason's dojo and teach a hip-hop-kaedo lesson.

Trini had gone to school on the east coast after returning from the peace conference. After a second stint overseas as a junior ambassador in Japan, she returned and began attending law school in Chicago. She currently lived in a studio apartment just outside of the city.

Billy, of course, was living on Aquitar. He had achieved a status that was near-royalty and was revolutionizing the technology on their planet. He was living in harmony with his beautiful wife Cestria, and regrettably he had to return promptly.

Kimberly had won several medals in the pan-global games, and had moved on to begin training for the Olympics. She competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and managed to win one gold and one silver medal. Having achieved her gymnastic goals, she returned to Florida and was now serving as a coach and mentor for Coach Schmidt's new pan-global team.

Tommy shared his stories about his research with Anton Mercer and the creation of the dino gems and the dino thunder rangers. None of the former rangers were surprised that Tommy had taken up the uniform again. He always threw his heart and soul into his ranger duties, and his reputation preceded him with all of the subsequent ranger teams. Tommy also explained that he had met Hayley in grad school, and together they had developed most of the technology in his underground lab, which he proudly showed off.

Eventually, the active chatter ceased, and the group sat in relative quiet, simply enjoying each other's presence.

"So, uh, what's the deal with you guys?" Ethan asked bluntly from his spot on the floor, motioning to Tommy and Kimberly together on the couch. Tommy had taken Ethan's spot on the couch when he went to the bathroom, and Tommy supposed that "misdeed" was what provoked this question.

"Ethan," Hayley scolded. "Don't be rude."

"It's not rude. Valid question… just a complicated question," Kimberly reassured.

"Jason and Zack told us about some of it. We're just wondering what happened between you two, and Jason said that was Dr. O's story to tell, so…" Trent said expectantly. Tommy shot a glance at Jason, who shrugged apologetically. Tommy opened his mouth to speak, but Kimberly interjected.

"Well, funny story… I thought Tommy broke up with me like eight years ago with a letter about how he couldn't be in a long distance relationship anymore, and he was leaving me for another fellow ranger. Apparently he got a similar letter…" Kimberly trailed off, hoping Tommy would take the reigns.

Tommy felt stung when he thought about her receiving such a letter. He nearly missed his cue to take over the story as he trailed off in thought, until he felt Kimberly nudge him. "I got a letter, too, that said Kimberly had found someone else," he said simply.

"So, long story short, the letters weren't real, but they broke us up, and we lost our Falcon Oracle powers." Kimberly paused to allow Trent and Ethan to fill Conner and Kira in on what they had learned about the powers. Then she continued. "Once we figured out that we had been duped, we regained our powers."

Kimberly sounded a little flippant as she briefly described the events, but Tommy knew that if she started describing the experience in too much detail, she would likely get quite emotional. The former rangers knew that something much deeper had happened between the two former lovers that day, but they were willing to wait until Tommy and Kimberly were ready to tell the story.

As for the younger rangers, Kimberly's briefing was sufficient. Having the answers they were looking for, they found themselves bored with all the reminiscence. They stood to say their goodbyes and leave, hoping to enjoy the rest of their Saturday night. They shook hands and hugged their predecessors. Kira stepped over to Kimberly.

"Hey, Kimberly, it was really nice to meet you," she said.

"Oh, hey, same here. Good luck with all these boys," Kimberly chided.

"Um, do you think you could show me some of those moves you used earlier sometime? I'd love to be able to… flip around like that."

Kimberly smiled. "I'd love to. We'll get together sometime soon."

"Okay, nice meeting you!" Kira said again, as she followed Trent out the door.

This interchange between the two women was not anything out of the ordinary. However, hearing it made Tommy's heart soar, and he couldn't control the smile that crept on to his face.

It meant Kim was planning on being around in the future.

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Soon after the dino thunder rangers left, Billy sadly said he had to go as well. He was driving back to Angel Grove to spend the evening with his father, and was leaving to return to Aquitar early the next day. The hugs and goodbyes began again. The last one Billy hugged was Kimberly.

"I'm so glad I got to see you again, Billy," Kimberly mumbled in the shoulder of Billy's Aquitian uniform.

"I'm so glad I learned what truly happened to the two of you… even though I'm pretty sure we don't know the whole story, do we." Billy pulled Kimberly back to look in her eyes as he spoke, stating his question rather than asking it.

Kim grinned and kissed him on the cheek. "One day, I'll fill you in."

"We'd better get going too… I don't want to wait too much later to start the drive," Jason said a few minutes later.

Tommy felt panic creep into his chest. He had a feeling that this would be a domino effect, and soon Kimberly would be standing to leave as well. As Jason and Zack gathered their belongings, Tommy darted over and knelt before Kim, who was working on her third beer.

"The guest bedroom's down the hall," he said matter-of-factly. "Please tell me you're staying." He was definitely not ready to give up his time with Kim.

Kimberly smiled playfully at Tommy, then glanced over at Trini. "I don't know… I already made reservations at the hotel in Angel Grove with Trini. I'd hate for her to have to go back there all by herself."

Trini directed her attention to the conversation between the two when she heard her name. Tommy looked up at her pleadingly.

"I don't know, it's a long drive back to Angel Grove… Like, an hour or something…" Trini said hesitantly.

"Half an hour, Trini. Half an hour, even if you drive like a little old lady," Tommy protested.

"I don't know if I can afford the room by myself. I am, after all, just a poor college student."

"I'll pay for her half. In fact, I'll pay for the whole thing," Tommy offered. This caused Kimberly to giggle. Trini was playing along perfectly.

"I'll meet you at the cars, Trini," Kim said, stifling a giggle. Tommy's heart sank.

"Okay," she replied, following Jason and Zack out the door. Tommy sprung to his feet and chased her out the door, pulling out his wallet.

"Trini!" he called after her. "What do you need for the hotel room? And for gas?"

Trini laughed. "That's ridiculous, Tommy. I'm not taking your money."

"But I thought…"

"I was just playing around with you. Kim's staying with you tonight. Take good care of her, alright? And good luck to you guys," she said, embracing him.

"Thank you, Trini," he said with a sigh of relief. He waved to his other friends, and turned to head back in the house. Hayley met him at the door.

"Looks like it might be a long night for you," she said with a smile.

"It might be, but not the kind of 'long night' you're thinking. We just need to talk. A lot," Tommy responded.

"Well… Good luck. I'll call you tomorrow," she said, making her way past him and to her car.

"Thanks, Hayley. Oh, and sorry about the whole kidnapping thing," he said with a laugh.

"Anything for you, Tommy," she called back facetiously as she climbed into the driver's seat. Tommy turned and headed back into the house.

Kimberly hadn't moved from her spot. She had pulled the blanket from the back of the couch and used it to cover her legs, which were curled cutely underneath her. Tommy stopped in the doorway and stared at the beautiful sight before him. She looked so 'at home' in his living room.

"So you're not leaving," he said calmly, trying to slow down his fast-beating heart.

"No, Tommy. I'm not going anywhere."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Tommy grabbed another beer for Kimberly and himself from the fridge, then took a seat in the armchair across from the couch. Kimberly flashed him a bright smile as he sat down. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"What's on your mind?" Kimberly finally asked.

"What isn't on my mind would be the better question," he responded.

"Don't be evasive with me. Remember I can poke around up there if I need to," she said, gesturing towards his forehead.

"Kim, I just… I don't know where we go from here."

"Me neither."

"Well, at least you've had time to think about it."

Kim shook her head. "No, the time to think about it just made it worse."

Tommy stood, turned off the music that Zack had put on, and then joined her on the couch. Kimberly studied him keenly as he moved about the room.

"Tommy, it's like we don't know each other all over again. We need to start over, from square one. As friends. Then we can see where that takes us."

Tommy nodded. "Friends," he repeated, as if he didn't know what the word meant.

Kimberly smiled. "You don't like the idea of 'friends', do you." Again, a statement, not a question.

"I'll take friends over nothing at all. I don't think I could handle falling out of touch with you again," Tommy said, instinctively wrapping an arm around her shoulders. There was silence in the room for another minute or two. Then Tommy said, "So… What is it that 'friends' do?"

Kim grinned. "Friends talk. And we have lots to catch up on."

Tommy's face grew serious. "There is one thing I'd like to know about you and your life since the last time I saw you."

"Only one?" she responded flirtatiously.

"I understand that you didn't want to ruin my relationship with Kat – even though, I would have preferred that to losing you like I did – but, I'm sure at some point you found out that I was _not_ dating Kat anymore. So, why didn't you track me down then?"

Kimberly sighed for about the billionth time that day. "Well… I was trying hard not to think about you. When I left Angel Grove that day, it was with the intention of never coming back. Never seeing you again." She rubbed her eyes, and Tommy sensed that she was trying not to cry.

"I didn't mean to upset you…"

"No, no, it's just painful to think about how shutting you out felt. Anyway…" Deep breath. "Anyway, I started dating someone else."

Tommy nodded understandingly. _It's okay, Kim._ He hoped she could hear him.

"We only stayed together for a few months. He was a great guy and everything… It just wasn't… wasn't…" she continued, struggling to get the words out.

"Just wasn't the same," Tommy finished for her.

Kim's eyes met his, and he smiled. "I know the feeling," he said soothingly.

"Anyway, after that, I just thought way too much time had passed. That it was too late to track you down and be like, 'Hey, Tommy, good to talk to you again, what's up? By the way, we got fake break-up letters. Wanna hang out?'"

Tommy burst out laughing at her fake scenario, and he pulled her a little closer. "Alright, alright. You answered my question. No harm, no foul. Now, what's one thing _you_ want to know about _me_?"

"I want to know about Kat."

Tommy felt himself blush a little, and he hid it by taking a small sip of his beer. "What about Kat?"

"I just want to know what your relationship was like. Did she make you happy? Did you guys talk about your future? You know, that kind of stuff."

_I can't talk about Kat without talking about the letter, and if talking about it is going to upset you, then I won't do it, _he thought, making direct eye contact with her. She got the point, and listened to his words in her mind.

_I won't get upset. I want to know. I want to know everything._

"Kat and I got together after I received your letter."

"Not_ my_ letter. Let's just call it _the_ letter."

Tommy laughed. "That makes it sound so ominous. But, fine, _THE_ letter. She actually tried to set me up with someone else right afterwards. Like, the very day I got the letter or something ridiculous like that. And it didn't work, because rangers and non-rangers don't mix. So after that, she was just kind of there to console me, and I guess we hit it off."

Kimberly nodded and took another long swig of beer. This was harder than she thought it'd be.

"Anyway, my heart was empty when I lost you, and she did her best to fill it. Bless her heart, but…"

"It just wasn't the same," Kim offered, echoing his words from earlier.

"It wasn't. She wasn't you." He looked down at her face. The alcohol was slowly taking effect, and her cheeks were slightly flushed. She fit perfectly, snuggled into his side as she was right now, and Tommy found himself thinking that this 'friends' thing was going to be much harder than he thought. "Anyway, we broke up when she left for London, and I really haven't talked to her since."

"Did she make you happy?"

"She made me… content."

Kimberly nodded. "What about Hayley?"

"What _about_ Hayley?" Tommy said, clearly confused.

"You two have a bit of a spark, huh?"

"Um, no… No no… I mean…" he stammered.

"You may not see it, but there's definitely a spark."

Tommy was actually relieved to hear a little flash of jealousy in her voice. "Kim, Hayley's my best friend." _And I mean 'friend' like an actual friend, not 'friends' like you and me are 'friends,' _he thought 'at' her feverishly. Kim caught his drift and dropped her inquiry.

"So… What else have you done since high school?"

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Tommy and Kimberly's conversation led them deep into the night. They talked about their lives over the last eight years, they talked about their hopes for the future and how those hopes had changed since high school, they talked about the other former rangers. By about 2am it was safe to say they were both starting to feel tipsy, and Tommy proposed they head to bed.

He walked Kimberly to the guest room and made sure she had everything she needed. She lay down on the bed and he sat beside her.

"So, we haven't actually talked about your visit, but I assume it's just a visit," Tommy said, feeling a dull pain in his chest at the very thought of her leaving.

"I'm here until Tuesday," Kimberly said, knowing exactly what Tommy was getting at. "I hate to impose… I really am fine with going back to the hotel."

"No, no… I want you here."

Kim was amazed with how decisive and resolute Tommy had become, and she was glad Tommy wanted her to stay. She was right where she wanted to be.

"Okay. Is there anything else you need?" Kimberly shook her head. Tommy paused to take in the sight of her one more time. She was now wearing a white tank top and pink pinstriped pajama pants. Her ponytail had loosened over the course of the evening, and some strands of hair hung loosely near her face. Tommy fought the urge to push the hair back from her face, because he knew it would just make him want to kiss her even more.

"Goodnight, then," he said, walking out of the bedroom and closing the door behind him. He made his way down the hallway to his room.

_Three days,_ he thought as he walked away. _ I have three days to change her mind about being 'friends.' Three days to win her back._

He flung himself on his bed and grabbed for the remote. He had a feeling he wouldn't be sleeping much tonight.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Kimberly lay in bed for quite a while, wide awake, staring at the ceiling. Her mind was racing a mile a minute. Everything had just happened so fast. She didn't even know she'd be seeing Tommy when she showed up in Angel Grove, and just a few hours later she was confessing everything she'd been carrying around for eight years. She knew Tommy wanted to jump right back into a relationship, and there was a good chance that she wanted that, too… She just needed some processing time. And that's what she was doing now, staring at the ceiling in the guest room.

She realized while she was laying there that she could still sense Tommy's thoughts. They were as erratic as hers were, and she couldn't pin down anything specific, but she could still feel his angst from two rooms away. She sighed. Trying to sleep was useless._Misery loves company, and you know Tommy's still awake,_ she thought to herself. Slowly, she swung her legs around and stood from her spot on the bed.

Kimberly made her way out the door and padded gently down the hall towards his room. His door was cracked open, and she could tell from the flashing light inside that he was watching TV. She tapped gently on the door.

Tommy jumped at the sound. Being a ranger for so many years had made him so edgy. He turned the volume down, and then said, "Come in."

He smiled softly at the sight of Kimberly pushing the door open, reminding him of a small child who had a bad dream. The two locked eyes as she entered.

"Can't sleep?" Tommy couldn't tell if he was actually reading her mind or if he just knew her that well. She shook her head. Tommy smiled and patted the empty space on the bed, and she crawled up next to him.

As soon as her head touched his shoulder, Kimberly felt her mind go quiet and her eyelids start to droop._ It's okay, Kim,_ she felt him say to her. _Everything will be alright. Go to sleep._

"Goodnight, Beautiful," he whispered aloud as her eyes fell closed.

Kimberly smiled as she drifted off to sleep.

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Tommy's eyes popped open early the next morning, and as soon as he was awake he rolled over to face Kimberly. He was worried that it had all been some kind of crazy dream. The events he remembered from the previous day were just too crazy to have been real.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he discovered that it all _was_ real. Kimberly was curled up in a ball, sleeping on her side, facing him. He stared at her face for several minutes before he pulled himself out of bed as gently as he could. He didn't want to wake her, and he had things to do.

The first thing he did was run downstairs to his lab. Besides giving his friends a brief tour, he hadn't been in the lab since he had chased Hayley through that portal. For all he knew, Goldar was out wreaking havoc on Reefside. Much to his relief, all was quiet and calm.

Then he went to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee, and he began straightening up while he waited for it to brew. He listened for sounds of Kimberly or her thoughts, and when he heard none he headed back to the bedroom with two steaming hot cups of coffee.

Kimberly was still in the same position he left her in. Smiling, Tommy placed her coffee on the nightstand and sat in the small armchair in the corner of the room. His mother had insisted he buy the chair, as it added "decorative value" to the otherwise unadorned room. He had always thought it was ridiculous; after all, any time he sat in his bedroom he was on his bed. Usually it just ended up being a place to pile up dirty clothes. However, today he learned its value – it was the perfect spot to sit and watch Kimberly, asleep in his bed.

_How did I ever live without this girl? I've been in contact with her for less than 24 hours, and already I know I'd be lost without her. I'll never sleep well in this bed alone again. What am I going to do when she leaves?_

Tommy began considering his options. He could beg her to stay. He could ask her to find a job in Reefside and move in with him. Then he realized he didn't even care if she had a job. She could stay home all day, watching soaps and reading fashion magazines. It'd be tough on a teacher's salary, but he would make it work.

But, she loved her job. She loved the girls she worked with. He could tell from the way she talked about them the night before, and he wasn't sure it would be fair to ask her to leave that behind. So he started thinking about what kept him in Reefside. His teaching job, for one, but he knew that science teachers were needed everywhere. He was sure he'd find a decent job in Florida, especially with a PhD. Hayley, for another. It'd kill him to leave her. He wasn't sure he was ready to make the choice between Hayley and Kim – because he was fairly certain he knew who'd win.

Last on his list, though, were the Dino Thunder Rangers. He had thrown his heart and soul into that ranger team, and he wasn't sure he could bear to leave. The only glimmer of hope he had was that they'd seen Mesogog be destroyed the day before. However, that was all too fresh to be stable, and Tommy knew he couldn't rely on the absence of evil for long – especially with Goldar and possibly Rita still lurking about. He knew power ranger team members left to pursue other noble goals – hell, Kim was one of them – but as their leader, Tommy felt it would never feel right if he left.

_You're getting way ahead of yourself. You don't even know if Kim wants to be with you, _his inner voice argued, and he drifted off in contemplation. While he didn't know if Kimberly wanted to be with him, he certainly hadn't heard or felt anything to the contrary from her. His inner debate continued.

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Kimberly's eyes fluttered open, and at first she didn't know where she was. She started to roll to examine her surroundings and was met with a bright ray of sunshine from a nearby window. She used her hand to block the light from her eyes as she continued to peek around – until her eyes fell upon Tommy.

He was gazing at her with an affectionate stare, and he looked happy without actually smiling. The sun was shining down on one side of his face, giving it a romantic glow, and Kimberly felt herself get lost in his eyes for a split second. She realized he was deep in thought, and she replayed the previous day's events in her head, trying to figure out what he was so pensive about.

"Could you try to keep your head chatter down? I'm trying to sleep here," she murmured softly.

The sound of Kimberly's voice jarred Tommy from his daze, and his eyes locked on to hers. She flashed him a meek smile as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her hair was in disarray, and that made it entirely too sexy for Tommy to handle. She was also showing a bit more cleavage than he remembered from the night before, and he worked frantically to push impure thoughts from his mind before Kimberly could hear them. Her gentle smile transitioned into a more mischievous one, and Tommy wondered if he was too late.

"Coffee?" he stammered, pointing at the nightstand.

"Mmmm, thank you," she said, wrapping both hands around the warm cup.

"I didn't know what you wanted in it. And I hope it's still warm," Tommy confessed. Kimberly's smile faded as she peered at him over the rim of the coffee cup. She felt her fantasy world crumble just a little.

_This is exactly the problem. He doesn't know me enough to know what I want in my coffee, _she thought, thinking about several people back in Florida who were barely acquaintances and probably would have known that she drank her coffee black. She then immediately hoped Tommy hadn't been listening to her thoughts. It didn't appear that he had, as he got up and slowly made his way over to the bed, staring her down the entire way. Kimberly used the warm feeling his look gave her to charge up her hands, and soon her coffee was steaming again.

"What's on your agenda for today?" he asked as he sat down on the opposite edge of the bed.

Kimberly was slightly taken aback by the question. She didn't even think about having plans while she was in town. She had taken two vacation days along with her two regular days off and gotten on that plane with the intention of defeating an evil empire. With that checked off her to-do list she realized she really didn't have anything else pressing to accomplish.

"Well… I'd like to go visit Angel Grove for a while. Maybe swing by the youth center. I don't know." Then a startling thought crossed her mind – maybe Tommy had plans that day.

"Well, if you can squeeze me in, I'd like to take you out tonight," he said plainly, answering her question. Then before Kimberly had finished the thought formulating in her head, he added, "It doesn't have to be like a date or anything."

Kimberly scowled. She was going to have to get used to this mind-reading business. One day with the powers and Tommy was using them better than she was. "Um, sure… where are we going?"

"There's a great little restaurant and lounge on the water. We go there after work sometimes."

"After work… at school? That just seems so wrong. Who knew teachers had social lives?" Kimberly teased.

Tommy laughed. "So, you in?"

"I'm in… except I have nothing to wear," she said, thinking about her small carry-on bag that she brought with her. "I'll have to go shopping. And I know how you feel about that."

Tommy sucked in a deep breath, showing mock-hesitancy about the idea of shopping with her. She elbowed him playfully. "I guess I'll manage," he said.

"Great," she chirped, bouncing out of bed. "I'd better get in the shower," she stated, heading for the bathroom. _And don't you dare think about me while I'm in there,_ she thought deliberately as she walked away.

_Oh, don't worry. I'll be too busy studying up on what you order for dinner. I'd hate to disappoint you again._

The tone she heard in his "voice" was half-serious, half-playful, and Kim smacked herself gently on the forehead as she closed the bathroom door.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

While Kim was in the shower, Tommy spread out his students' papers on the kitchen table. He had plenty of them to grade, and he didn't want to worry about them that night after he returned home. If Kimberly was anything like she used to be, it'd take her close to an hour to get ready, so he figured he could get some work done.

As soon as his pen hit the first paper, though, his phone rang. He sighed and answered it reluctantly.

"Hey, how'd last night go?" asked Hayley's voice from the other end of the line.

"Um, it went fine. We talked, just like I told you we would." Tommy conveniently left out the part about her sleeping in his bed.

"Well, good. Hey, I know you've probably got something planned today, but I'd like to come over to check out some readings we picked up just before I was so rudely interrupted yesterday."

"What kind of readings?"

"Well, the command center died down. That's good. It was probably energy fluctuations from whatever it was that sent your friends their 'signals.' However, the number of invisa-portals that are hidden in the city has nearly tripled in the last couple days, and that worries me a bit."

Tommy sighed. It worried him too.

"Okay, Hayley, well come on over whenever. Kim and I are going to the mall, but just let yourself in, and call me if you need anything."

"You're going to the mall?!?" she asked incredulously. "Man, that girl really does have some power over you, doesn't she."

"Bye, Hayley," Tommy said pointedly.

"Bye."

Tommy hung up the phone and tried to ignore the gnawing feeling at the back of his mind. Something was wrong and demanded his attention, and he was about to go frolic at the mall. He didn't even like the mall. He tried to justify it every way he could, but deep down he knew he should stay and help Hayley.

"Hey Tommy, did you know your outlet in here doesn't work?"

Tommy turned to see Kimberly emerge from the bathroom, and the urge to stay with Hayley sunk even further from his consciousness. She stood in front of him with a hair dryer in one hand, her wet hair hanging loosely and uncombed over her shoulders. She wore a pale blue crew neck t-shirt that just barely met the waistband of her khaki shorts, which only came down a few inches on her thighs. Her bare legs were incredibly well-toned, and they looked soft and smooth. Tommy knew he was being rude by staring, but he just couldn't help it.

"Um, yeah, we had to do some rewiring for the lab, and that outlet was a casualty, unfortunately. You can go use the one in my bathroom, though."

Kimberly flashed a sparkling grin to show her gratitude and began to retreat down the hallway. She stopped halfway down and looked back at him over her shoulder. "You can stay with Hayley if you want. I'll understand."

It took Tommy a second to process. He still wasn't used to the mind reading thing. Then he began to feel disappointed. _If she doesn't want me to go with her to the mall…_

"Of course I want you to go," she said, cutting off his thought. "But I understand why you want to stay. Besides, I was thinking I should try to get together with Aisha while I'm here, so I'll see if she can meet me out there. She'll help me pick out something fabulous…" she said with a wink.

Tommy grinned. "I'm sure it will be. Are you sure you don't mind?"

Kimberly smiled again, shook her head, and with a flip of her wet hair retreated to the bathroom with her hair dryer.

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After a quick phone call to Aisha (who screamed her head off in excitement when she heard Kimberly's voice on the phone), Kim exchanged cell phone numbers with Tommy and headed to her second home – the Angel Grove Mall. It was a half hour drive to the city limits of Angel Grove and about another fifteen minutes to the mall. On the way she called Trini and offered to swing by the hotel and pick her up.

"Kim, that sounds great, but I have class tomorrow. My flight back to Chicago is this afternoon. But, you'll definitely have to call me soon and fill me in on all the details of your… evening," Trini said.

"Oh definitely. We definitely need to talk more often," Kimberly replied with a smile. She wished her friend a safe trip, and then continued her trek to the mall. She spent the rest drive reflecting on her relationship with Tommy; however, the only conclusion she was able to come to was that she had plenty to discuss with Aisha.

Once she arrived at the mall, she parked the car and headed for the door. She was halfway across the parking lot when she heard the voice of her old friend.

"KIMBERLY! Girl, it's so good to see you!"

Kim turned toward the sound of her name to see Aisha rushing towards her.

"AISHA!" she yelled, throwing her arms around the woman. "It's so good to see you! You look great!"

"Yeah, so do you! I'm so happy you're here!"

The two girls headed for the mall and agreed to start their shopping venture by grabbing some lunch. They made their way to their favorite bistro, ordered their drinks and food without even opening a menu, and then got down to business – catching up.

"So," Aisha said, tossing a handful of braids over her shoulder, "Did you say you were calling from Tommy's house?"

Kimberly blushed. "Yeah… That's a very long story."

"Well then it's a good thing we have time."

Kimberly thought back, trying to decide what all Aisha knew. She sighed sadly when she realized that it wasn't much. She really hadn't done a good job staying in touch with her, or any of her friends for that matter, after she left for Florida. She took a deep breath and started at the beginning.

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"…And now I'm staying with Tommy until Tuesday."

Aisha nodded, trying to absorb the details of Kimberly's story. She hadn't spoken to Kimberly since she left for Africa, so she didn't know anything about the letters or the loss of the Falcon Oracle powers. It was a lot to take in all at once. She sat silently for what seemed like forever, and Kimberly filled the time by pushing their empty dishes towards the end of the table for their waitress.

"So, you two are back together again, I take it," Aisha said slowly.

"Well, not exactly."

"Is he with another girl? That redhead he was with when he came to Adam's party?"

"What red- oh, Hayley? He says no. I don't know if I believe that there's_ nothing_ there between the two of them, but they're definitely not together. What party?"

"Oh, Adam got accepted as a martial arts instructor at some prestigious academy in Colorado. It was a pretty big deal, so we had to have a party."

Kim pouted a little, realizing once again that there was so much she didn't know about her old friends. Aisha hadn't even had a chance to talk about her time in Africa yet. Then the conversation continued at the normal Kim-Aisha tempo.

"So if he's not with another girl, what's the problem? Are you with another guy that you managed to leave out of this whole story?"

"No, I would have told you that first."

"Then WHAT?"

"Well…" Kimberly said, taking a moment to breathe, "I don't know."

"Do you not want to get back together, or does he not want to get back together? It sure sounds like he does."

"Yeah, I think he does."

"So it's you," Aisha said in an accusatory tone.

"Well, I guess. Here's the real problem. I spent so many years actively trying to forget about Tommy. I mean, _really_ trying to forget. And now, I'm backpedaling so fast it's like I'm sixteen all over again. I'm just worried that I'm only in love with the Tommy I knew then, and I'm…. I don't know… projecting it on to this Tommy. Or something," she said, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"Girl?"

"What?"

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds? People don't change that much! If you loved Tommy then, and you had to spend eight years pushing him out of your mind, then I'd say it's a pretty safe bet you still _do_ love him."

"But how do I know that I love the 'him' he is today and not the 'him' he was eight years ago? That's the problem, and once I jump back in I'll never be able to jump back out. It's like I'm re-experiencing all that puppy-love, but looking back on all of that stuff as an adult I realize how silly it all was I just don't want to make a mistake with him again.."

"The only mistake you're making is not running back into his open arms! Kim, Tommy was DEVASTATED when you left! If you don't get back together, he'll be destroyed all over again."

"So you want me to be with him out of guilt?!?"

"No! That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that I'd hate to see either of your hurt unnecessarily again. If you want to be together and you decide not to because of all these silly… technicalities… then that's exactly what WILL happen."

Kimberly's face looked pensive, and Aisha knew it was time to lay off of her friend. "Come on, it's time to find you something fabulous for tonight." That brought a beaming smile back to Kim's face.

"My thoughts exactly!" she exclaimed, and the two young women paid their bill and left.

As they walked through the mall, though, Aisha offered one last piece of advice. "Why don't you make a list of all the things you loved about Tommy when you were sixteen? Cross off any of those things that aren't important to you anymore, and focus on what's left. Then spend the next two days seeing if any of those things are still true about him. If they are, you'll have your answer."

"Sounds complicated… Oooh, look at that dress!" Kim said, rushing towards a store window and pulling Aisha with her.

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When Aisha suggested making a list, Kimberly was ready to be done talking about it, so she had blown it off and pulled herself back into shopping mode. They had spent three exhausting hours combing every corner of the mall for just the right outfit before Kimberly realized that she'd never make it back in time to go on her "date" if the shopping continued. She said goodbye to her old friend, but promised to stay in touch. As she climbed in her car, Aisha leaned down on the door frame and said, "Remember what I said. Don't make the same mistake twice. Don't run away again."

While her mind wandered during her drive back to Tommy's, she found herself doing exactly what Aisha had suggested – making a list.

_He made me feel so safe, no matter what we were up against. I could always count on him, even if I couldn't count on him to be on time. He blushed whenever I caught him checking me out. He'd dance with me, even though he hated dancing. He always wanted to make me happy. He was compassionate. He opened doors for me. He stood up for me. He knew when I needed to be kissed. He was incredibly attractive. And the way he touched me…_ Kimberly began to drift off into inappropriate thoughts, and she found it difficult to focus on the road with the large energy rush she was experiencing.

Kimberly arrived back at Tommy's house a little past four o'clock. She approached the front door, and suddenly didn't know what to do._Should I knock? Should I just walk in?_ She became flustered for just a moment, until the front door flew open and Hayley appeared.

"Hi, Kimberly," she said, holding the door for her as she stepped out. "I was just leaving. I'm sorry I kept him tied up all day. He really could have gone with you."

"Oh, no, trust me, I understand. It wasn't a problem at all. Besides, he would have just been all bored and whiny," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Hayley laughed. "Well, he's all yours. I hope you guys have a great night," she said as she headed for her car.

Kimberly smiled and headed in. She dropped her shopping bags at the door and continued on her path towards the kitchen. "Tommy?" she called tentatively, still feeling a little like she was trespassing. "Tom-" What Kimberly saw when she reached the kitchen stopped her dead in her tracks.

Tommy was there, wearing black workout pants and a headband, drinking from a water bottle. Her eyes were immediately drawn to his bare chest and abs, which were incredibly muscular and well-defined. He was always built, but time had definitely been good to him, and she found him even hotter than he had been back in the day. Her gaze traveled upward along his body, damp with sweat, to his powerfully built arms._ His arms were always great, but… WOW… _she thought to herself, and she mentally checked "attractiveness" off her list.

_(Check.)_

He smiled at her knowingly, and she remembered that none of her thoughts were private anymore. "Sorry, I, uh, thought I'd try to get a work out in while Hayley was working. She didn't really need my help as much as I thought," he said, never breaking eye contact with her.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Kim said, still very blatantly gawking at him. Her cheeks flushed a bright red when she realized how obvious she was being.

"Well, I'm going to jump in the shower so we can get going," he said, walking towards her. He stopped just before he passed her and whispered, "Try not to think about me while I'm in there." Then with a little smirk he continued in the direction of his bedroom, leaving Kimberly standing frozen in awe of what she'd just witnessed.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

"Kim, come on! We have reservations at 6:00."

"Reservations? I thought this was a casual place," she called from the master bathroom.

"It is. I know a guy. He's holding us a table."

"Alright, I'll be right out."

Tommy sighed. "Kim, I'm sure you look great."

"Not yet, Tommy, not yet."

"That's what you always say. And you always come out looking wonderful."

"That's because I don't come out until I'm done."

Tommy sighed. There was no arguing with her. He was incredibly anxious to get the evening started. He knew Kimberly's biggest drawback was that they didn't know each other well enough anymore, and he thought a night alone together was just the cure for that. He turned and headed back to the living room to patiently await her arrival.

She emerged about ten minutes later, and Tommy realized she was worth the wait.

She wore a rose-colored scoop-neck top with off-the-shoulder sleeves that showed off her upper body assets beautifully, along with a loose-fitting white skirt with an embroidered print along the bottom. She had paired this outfit with brown backless sandals, and as she entered the living room she pulled a dark denim jacket over the ensemble. As she shook her dark, layered coif over the collar of the jacket, she smiled at Tommy and said, "Are you ready to go?"

As much as Tommy wanted to stare at the rest of her, he found himself drawn to the sparkle in her eyes. It took him a moment to respond, but finally he answered, "Um, yeah, let's go."

Once in the driveway, Tommy swung open the passenger side door and offered his had to assist her climb into the vehicle.

_(Check.)_

Then they headed towards Reefside's lakefront, the wind gently tousling Kimberly's rich brown locks. Tommy watched her from the corner of his eye as he drove, and silently prayed that love was on his side tonight.

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The pair arrived at Kalina's Bar and Grille right at 6pm. Tommy hopped out of the Jeep and trotted around dutifully to open Kim's door, and then they made their way up the ramp to the small restaurant. It was a quaint, beautifully decorated place that sat on a large dock, so they were literally on the water, and the back wall of the restaurant was one large window so you could see all of Reefside Lake. As soon as they stepped inside, a man named Stanley greeted them from a small podium, and Tommy shook his hand. Apparently, he knew Stanley from his years in college. He introduced Kimberly, and then Stanley led the two of them to a table in the back with a beautiful view of the lake.

Once seated, their waitress Lauren reported to their table immediately.

"Tommy! It's good to see you! It's been a while. What are the two of you drinking tonight?" she asked, pulling out a small pad of paper.

Kimberly glanced up at the waitress, and then back at Tommy. She apparently knew him from somewhere, and Kim tried to glance inside his mind to find out how he knew the attractive blonde.

_Relax, Kim, I just come here a lot. They all know me._

Kimberly blushed, having been caught, and returned her attention to the question at hand. Before she could say anything, though, Tommy said, "I'll take a Bud Light, and she'll have Bacardi Peach and Sprite." Lauren nodded and walked away.

Kimberly looked at Tommy questioningly. "How'd you know that's what I wanted? I didn't even know that was what I wanted?"

Tommy smiled. "It's your favorite, right?"

A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Yes, it is."

Tommy reminded himself to thank Trini for her help via a well-placed phone call earlier that afternoon. He looked back at Kimberly, who was still staring at him disbelievingly. _That's got to make up for the coffee thing,_ he thought.

"So," Tommy said, trying to start a meaningful conversation, "you're helping to train Schmidt's girls for the Pan-Globals. What's next for them after that? Olympics?"

"Well, for a couple of them. I think there are two girls on the team who have Olympic potential. The rest are good, don't get me wrong, but there's a talent gap between the Pan-Globals and the Olympics, and they're really going to have to work hard to bridge that gap."

"That's what you did, right? Went straight from the Pan-Globals to the Olympics?"

Kim nodded. "Yeah, but I really buried myself in training. I mean, it was hard work preparing for the Pan-Globals, but after that, for the next two years all I thought about was the Olympics. I trained for 18 hours a day. It was ridiculous. It took a _ton_ of work. I'm not saying I'm better than these girls… I just don't know that I see them having the dedication that it took to get that far."

Tommy nodded. He knew what it was like to bury himself in something. He had completed his PhD in six years, when these days it took a lot of people that long just to get a Bachelor's. But when your heart is trying to escape something, there's no better way than to completely invest it in something else, and that's what Tommy and Kimberly had both done since their breakup. It was only fitting that they be reunited now, when they both had stepped back after achieving their goals and found that their life was still lacking something. Fate works in mysterious ways.

"Well, I'm sure if anyone can get them to reach that level, it'd be you, right?"

"Yeah, I guess… I mean, just because I've done it before, but…" she paused thoughtfully. "I'm really not sure I want to do all of that again. I've loved coaching, ad I love the team, but after the Pan-Globals, I think I might be ready to do something different."

Tommy's heart soared with hope. He had been digging for information without even realizing he was doing it, and now that he stumbled upon it he'd have to tread carefully. "What else do you think you'd want to do?"

"I don't know. I've thought about going back to school and getting a business degree so I can open my own gymnastics school for beginners. I've always wanted to work with kids. I think that'd be a lot of fun. I've also thought about pursuing a music career. I don't know… I just think I'm done with the world of competitive gymnastics."

Tommy nodded encouragingly. He wanted badly to bring up the idea of her relocating to Reefside, or even back to Angel Grove, but he knew better than to push too far, too fast. He continued to listen to Kimberly talk about her work with the gymnasts, hanging on every word.

Lauren reappeared with their drinks and then with a wink from Tommy, retreated. Kimberly was so caught up in their current conversation that she didn't even realize they hadn't placed orders for their meals.

When that conversation died down, Tommy took a minute to stare at her across the table. He really was enthralled with this young woman, and he had no idea how it was that she was still single. He was sure every man she encountered was as taken with her as he was, and just sitting across the table from her made him feel like the luckiest guy in the restaurant.

"So, how was your time with Aisha?" he asked, hoping to get her talking again.

"It was great! It was so good to see her again. I really need to talk to her more often. I think I was feeling a little bit of Aisha-withdrawal," she joked. Tommy smiled and thought about his own 'Kimberly-withdrawal.'

Then Kimberly's face turned serious. "I need to stay in touch with everyone more. I can't believe I've been so out of the loop over the last few years." She reached across the table and touched his hand, sending a jolt through his body. "I can't believe it's been almost a decade since I've talked to you."

Tommy grinned wistfully and squeezed her hand. "We have lots to catch up on. But we have plenty of time. Let's just try not to go ten years before we talk again."

Kimberly smiled, but she was fighting back tears. She knew it was her fault they had been out of contact for so long, but Tommy was so compassionate and forgiving he would never attribute that particular fault to her.

_(Check.)_

"It won't be ten years, Tommy. In fact, we're going to talk so often that by the end of next week you'll be sick to death of me."

Tommy shook his head. _Not a chance, Kim. Not a chance._

Just then, Lauren arrived with their meals. Kim shot a look at Tommy as she lifted the plates from the tray.

_I don't remember ordering…_

_I know. I thought I'd save you the trouble_, thought Tommy as he winked at her.

Kim smirked. _Alright, show-off, I think you're taking this a bit too far._

Lauren placed the plates in front of the couple, and then returned to the bar to refill their drinks, while the couple dug into their meals.

"Tommy, this is great!" Kim exclaimed after a couple of bites.

He stopped what he was doing to stare at her intensely. _See? I know you better than you think._

Kimberly caught his gaze and nodded._ Point taken._

_(Check.)_

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_

Tommy and Kimberly finished their meal and one more round of drinks. Then Kimberly suggested they step out on to the dock. They made their way out the door leading to the deck overlooking the water. The sun was just slipping from the cloud-filled sky, casting a pink glow over the tranquil waters, and a gentle summer breeze ruffled Kimberly's hair and the bottom of her skirt. She stepped forward to the railing separating her from the water, and Tommy stayed back just slightly, hands in the pockets of his pants. He watched her as she gazed peacefully at the water, and he resisted the urge to tap into her thoughts.

Kimberly glanced back over her shoulder at Tommy. He was staring back at her amorously, and she noticed a slight blush fall over his cheeks when her eyes met his.

_(Check.)_

Kimberly knew he was checking her out at this moment, and she thought she'd take a moment to do the same. His black t-shirt showed off his muscular figure perfectly, and she allowed herself to be distracted by it for only a brief second before allowing her gaze to travel upwards to his face. His features were strong and masculine, and Kimberly allowed each slope and curve to imbed itself in her memory. She wanted to remember what he looked like right now forever. Her eyes met his, and she knew in that instant that she was looking at Tommy 'all-grown-up'. This was not her teenage boyfriend anymore. He was a strong, responsible, mature man with a heart of gold and an unrivaled sense of loyalty. The way she felt about him was not a girlish fantasy as she feared. She did not love him because of who he was at sixteen; rather, she loved him because he _still_ possessed all the romantic attributes he had at sixteen. He was not perfect, but neither was she. They had both made mistakes in their past, but the last 24 hours seemed to show that together, the two of them could work through all of that.

_(Check.)_

Kimberly turned back to face the lake, her heart racing. She tried to control the energy that flowed through her from the oracle, but her emotions were running wild and taking her powers with them. "I love this view," she murmured.

"Yeah, me too," Tommy said, focusing his stare on her. He stepped up to join her at the railing. "You know, if you like this view so much…"

"…then maybe I should think about moving to Reefside," Kimberly finished for him. She looked up at Tommy, who looked surprised. "Come on, Tommy, you've been thinking about it since this morning."

"What do _you_ think?" he asked quietly.

Kimberly smiled at him, but did not answer. Instead, she reached down and found his hand with hers, and returned her gaze to the water. Tommy watched her intently, and despite the fact she hadn't answered him, he was satisfied. The idea of living in Reefside was definitely in her mind, and she hadn't said 'no.' That was good enough for him. He let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

The two stood for a moment watching the sun set between the clouds before Tommy apprehensively broke the silence. "I've missed you, Kim."

Kimberly turned to face him, his arm still holding her close. Tommy could see tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "I've missed you too, Tommy." With that, her eyelids could hold no more and a single tear slipped down her cheek. Tommy reached to brush it away, and then used that same hand to push her hair back from her face, never breaking their smoldering eye contact.

_Oh God, he's going to kiss me,_ he heard from her mind. He couldn't tell if she was alarmed or excited at the thought, but either way, she was right.

Tommy took a deep breath. This was almost as hard to do as the first time he had kissed her, at the lakeside in Angel Grove. But the thought of how wonderful that kiss had felt kept him focused on the curves of her lips. He leaned forward slightly.

Just then, a clap of thunder interrupted them, and the sky opened up and poured down on them. Kimberly shrieked, and Tommy grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door. He wrapped his arm around her protectively and tried to shield her from as much rain as he could as they dashed back up the stairs.

_(Check.)_


	19. Chapter 19

_This is a super-short chapter. I'm sorry! I really want the next one to stand on its own, so this is just sort of filler material to bridge the gap._

_Thank you again to all of you leaving reviews! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story!_

**Chapter 19**

Once back inside, they made their way across the room to the bar side of the restaurant. Kimberly excused herself to the restroom to clean herself up after being caught in the rain. Tommy made his way to the bar and ordered himself a single stiff drink. He usually didn't drink anything but beer, but he felt the need to loosen up after all the sexual tension out there on the dock.

Kalina's always had a live band playing on the weekends, and they had just begun their first set. Tommy turned in his barstool to watch them play, and he noticed several middle-aged couples holding each other and swaying to the music on the small dance floor. He tried to envision himself at that age, and realized he couldn't imagine him holding anyone else but Kimberly. _I've only got one more day,_ Tommy thought. _Once she leaves, I might not get another chance with her._ Tommy sighed and took another sip of his drink. He knew what pressure he was under to rekindle things with Kim, and he was trying as hard as he could. He needed to stop dancing around their feelings for each other. He needed to tell Kimberly how he felt about her, even though he was fairly certain she already knew, but more importantly he needed to ask her how she felt about him. He was feeling discouraged after the incomplete kiss on the dock, and he hoped he'd be able to build up his courage again.

Kimberly returned from the bathroom and placed a hand on his shoulder. "So, what's the plan for the rest of the evening?"

Tommy shrugged. "I didn't really have any. We can stay here until you decide you feel like leaving."

"Okay." She turned to observe the band and the dancing couples. Tommy followed her gaze and finished his drink in one last swig.

"Dance with me?" he asked, offering her a hand. Kimberly looked shocked.

_You hate dancing._

_I know._

_So why are you asking me to dance?_

_Because I like it when it's with you._

_(Check.)_

Kimberly smiled flirtatiously, took his hand, and allowed herself to be escorted to the dance floor. The song had a fairly upbeat tempo, but Tommy pulled Kimberly into his chest as if they were slow dancing. He smelled her hair with every breath, and he was distracted by her body moving against his. He took a deep breath and tried to save this memory in his mind. If things didn't work out with Kim and she left again, this was what he wanted to remember.

_Tommy?_

_Yeah, Kim?_

_Stop thinking you're never gonna see me again._

Tommy smiled and hugged her a little tighter. Kimberly fought against the energy that her emotions were pushing through her body right now. She feared if she hugged Tommy as tightly as she wanted to, her oracle powers would take over and she'd end up breaking his spine or something. Sometimes these powers were as much of a curse as they were a burden.

Tommy, in the meantime, was dealing with his own Falcon Oracle effects. The energy from his emotions was causing his legs to quiver, and he worked to drive the electric feelings down deep to minimize their outward effects. He knew, though, from his previous experience with these powers that if they were suppressed too long, they'd wreak havoc with his emotions, and he could not afford to get overly emotional right now.

Kimberly turned her head to face him, burying her chin in his t-shirt. "Tommy, what are we gonna do?"

Tommy smiled and pushed her hair back again. "I don't know, Beautiful."

Kim returned to her previous position and continued to rock with him silently through the rest of the song and part of the next. Then she pulled back and looked him in the eye. "Let's go home."

Tommy nodded, and the two of them headed for the door.


	20. Chapter 20

_Another short one… But I assure you, there's good stuff to come!!_

**Chapter 20**

The ride home was silent, for the most part. Kimberly was completely lost in her own thoughts, and Tommy was concentrating on driving home through the pouring rain. Neither one of them spoke or used telepathy the entire ride.

Kimberly broke the silence when they pulled into his driveway. "So, you have to work tomorrow?"

"I haven't used much sick time this year. I could call in," Tommy responded, hoping Kimberly would respond favorably to this idea.

Instead, she shrugged nonchalantly and simply said, "If you want to. I mean, I don't want you to feel like you have to entertain me all day…"

Tommy listened to her courteous, friendly, non-sensual tone and suddenly found himself gripping the steering wheel incredibly tightly. He could feel frustration bubbling in his chest, and he used every ounce of his strength to keep it from getting out of control. He stared straight ahead and did not respond, working to hold in the Falcon Oracle energy.

This left Kimberly to wonder what he was thinking. However, when she tried to find out, she found his thoughts were as cloudy as the night sky, and overall she sensed animosity. She backed off slightly, and said softly, "I think the rain's letting up. We'd better make a run for it."

She reached for the handle of her car door, and Tommy made no move to stop her. Instead he reached for his own, and the two of them ran into the house. By the time they made it inside, both were soaking wet and breathing hard.

Once inside, Tommy was still giving her the silent treatment, so Kimberly headed for the kitchen to grab them each a bottle of water. Tommy followed a few steps behind her, but remained in the doorway next to the table. He didn't want to feel angry or frustrated, but the oracle was starting to run away with his emotions. _The oracle doesn't create emotions… it just amplifies what's already there,_ he argued with himself, and he prayed Kim wasn't listening.

"Here," she said, holding a water bottle in his general direction, implying that she did not hear his thoughts. "I'm going to go dry my hair now," she said politely, sending Tommy over the edge.

"DAMMIT KIM!" Tommy's voice was a full-fledged yell, and at the same time a small blast of energy shot from his hands, scattering his students' papers all over the floor. The sound of his voice startled them both, and Kimberly stumbled backwards against the counter, dropping both bottles of water to the floor.

Tommy wasn't sure where it came from, but he knew there was no turning back now.

"I can't be your friend! It's just not an option! I only have two choices when it comes to you. I can live my life without you, or I can be _madly_ in love with you. I've done the first, and it's excruciating. But it's better than this… this… charade!"

Tommy's voice remained at a near-yell as he spoke, and Kimberly stood frozen in her place, hands bracing her against the counter. She could still sense Tommy's rage, and it was making her hands and knees shake. She wasn't sure she could walk away now if she wanted to. Besides, her emotions were a-swirl within her, and she tried hard to slow her breathing and regain control of herself.

"I'm not your friend, Kim; I don't even know how to be your friend. I was _never_ your friend. I've been in love with you since the minute I laid eyes on you, and I've never stopped. I've never been anything except your boyfriend, or the guy who _wants_ to be your boyfriend. I just…" Tommy paused and rubbed his hands through the sides of his hair as he stepped further into the kitchen, turning so his back was towards her. "I just don't know how to do anything else." His voice had lowered in volume, but he still spoke with a harshness that made Kim's heart quake.

Tommy turned to face her, lowering his hands to his hips and cocking his head slightly. She dropped her head, and Tommy knew tears were falling without even seeing her beautiful face.

"Kim, I'm sorry, I couldn't help it…" he said, his voice trailing off. Kimberly could see the white swirls of energy forming around his hands and wrists and knew that he could hold back no more.

_It's okay, Tommy._ Kimberly sent a thought his way, hoping he could hear her, because she wasn't sure she could speak.

He took a long deep breath and started taking a few steps in her direction. He spoke in a softer but still shaking voice. "But I can't do it. I can't watch you sleep without wanting to be sleeping with you. I can't look at you and not get turned on. I can't watch you smile without wanting to hug you." He stopped a couple of feet in front of her. "I can't watch you cry and not want to kiss you."

Kimberly finally pulled her tear-filled eyes away from the floor and met his. Her whole body was shaking, and she was sure she'd fall over if it weren't for the counter. She felt awful that she'd made Tommy feel this way. She struggled to find her voice, and when she finally did, she spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.

"So what are you waiting for?"


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Tommy lunged towards her without thinking twice about her words. He pulled her face to his powerfully and began kissing her passionately. Much to his pleasure, Kimberly responded hungrily, grabbing at the material of his t-shirt to pull him closer. Tommy kept one hand firmly planted on either side of her jaw as he continued to press his lips to hers. He could feel her energy coursing through him, and the rush he was experiencing right now was incredible. The way Kim was pulling him towards her told Tommy she was feeling the same thing.

He let his hands travel a little lower to hoist her up onto the counter, and as he set her down Kimberly reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it up over his head, leaving him in his white tank undershirt. Their lip-lock broke and they both found themselves gasping for air after the intensity of that kiss. Their eyes met briefly before Kimberly's eyes traveled to his arms and chest. She felt nearly hypnotized as she ran her fingertips over them, looking down from above him just slightly.

"Kimberly," Tommy moaned softly, letting his eyes fall shut for just a second. He opened them widely and took in all of her. The sultry look on her face turned him on incredibly, and he reached for her.

They kissed again, but this time it was slow and passionate. Tommy stroked her cheek and hair gently, while her hands remained firmly planted on his upper arms. Despite their relaxed pace, Tommy could feel Kimberly tensing up, and he knew she was forcing down a pretty serious energy rush. Her hands traveled up his arms to his shoulders, then she wrapped her arms around his neck powerfully. As they fell into place a blast of pink energy shot from one of them and splintered the cabinet door immediately to his right.

Kim gasped and pulled away. "Tommy, I'm…"

"I don't care," he said quickly and breathlessly, using his hand to guide her lips back to his. He was feeling a pretty serious energy rush of his own, and he focused his to grab at her jacket and push it backwards off her arms. He did so more roughly than he anticipated, but she didn't seem to mind. She shrugged the denim off and turned her attention back to him, cupping his face in her hand.

She said nothing, but looked at him soulfully and shook her head. _Who would have thought, after all these years…_ she mused, with a small smile.

He pushed forward and began placing small kisses along her neck, starting at her jaw line and moving towards her shoulder. He had almost reached her relatively low neckline when she giggled and used her hand to pull his head back up to eye level.

"Read my thoughts right now," she commanded in a sultry voice.

He looked into her eyes and did as he was told, and as he did, a devilish grin appeared on his face. For such a beautiful lady, her thoughts certainly weren't very lady-like.

"You know, I was just thinking the same thing," he murmured.

"I know."

She flashed him her trademark bright smile, and he wrapped one arm around her, his hand resting dangerously on the gap between her shirt and her skirt. She took her cue to wrap her legs around his waist, and he pulled her off the counter almost effortlessly. He paused to look at his broken cabinet, and laughed. _Is that all you got?_ he thought, looking back at her. Then he turned and carried her towards his bedroom.

-----------------------------------

Tommy charged towards his bedroom door with Kim in his arms and not a doubt in his head. He paused, however, when he reached the doorway, and he leaned back to look at Kimberly. They hadn't ever crossed this line – at least, not with each other – and he wanted to make sure Kimberly wasn't making a rash decision because of the games her powers could play with her emotions. The last thing he wanted her to feel was regret afterwards.

Kimberly sensed Tommy's worries as they clouded his eyes, and she cut him off before he could even speak.

"Tommy, you know, I've been thinking about this very moment for the last decade. No matter how hard I tried to forget about you, I just couldn't." He smiled sheepishly, and she continued, "I've never been more sure about anything in my life."

His smile broke into an all-out grin. He took several steps forward and heaved Kimberly onto the bed. Again, he used more force than he meant to, and he reminded himself that the oracle energy made him unaware of his own strength. He'd have to be careful not to hurt her, but the sound of her giggle as she bounced slightly on the mattress wiped the concern from his head.

He walked towards the bed slowly, being careful to absorb this image deep in his brain. Kim was on her back, her hair sprawled gently and haphazardly around her head. She lay with one knee bent and the other one straight, causing her skirt to drape between her knees in a way that barely obscured the view Tommy so desperately wanted. She was biting her lower lip as she stared him down, probably subconsciously, but it made her look so damn sexy. He knew that despite his problems with his memory, this sight was going to be burned in his mind for eternity.

As he approached, Kimberly extended one open hand in his direction. He took it and squeezed it gently, making affectionate eye contact with her as he stood at the edge of the bed.

"I never stopped loving you, Tommy," she said softly, making his heart race.

Now it was Tommy's turn to lose his voice, and instead of responding, he allowed her to pull him down into her embrace.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Kimberly's eyelids fluttered open early the next morning. She reached one arm out to stretch and tried to roll over, but couldn't. Upon further investigation she discovered Tommy had wrapped his arm around her protectively. She smiled as she lifted his arm and maneuvered her way out from under it so she could sit up. The bed sheet was draped around her loosely and it felt cool and smooth against her bare skin.

She looked over at still-sleeping Tommy and sighed. He was always amazing to look at, but he looked so angelic when he was sleeping it nearly entranced her. He slept on his side, facing her, with his left arm curled under his pillow and his right extended in her direction, being the one she just escaped from. His dark hair was disheveled atop his head, and his lips were parted just slightly. She reached out with one hand and gently ran her fingertips over the red swirls on his shoulders and back, which reminded her that neither one of them had been very "angelic" the night before.

She focused her attention on the rest of the bedroom, and nearly gasped. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought she'd woken up just after a monster attack or something. The room was in complete shambles. The ceiling fan above them was now hanging crookedly in a way that made her think for sure it was going to fall. The armchair that Tommy had finally grown to appreciate the previous morning was now blown to pieces, with small pieces of cotton stuffing surrounding its remains. There were several scorch marks on each of the four walls. In one of the windows a pane of glass was cracked, and the mini-blinds which had covered said window had been annihilated. Tommy's small TV, which had previously sat on the dresser, now lay on its side on the floor.

_Man, if we ever do this again, we're going to have to learn some self-control…_

"You did _not_ just say that, did you?" came a sleepy voice from her right. She looked down to see Tommy's long eyelashes just barely separated, and what little could be seen of his dark brown eyes were staring directly at her.

Kimberly smiled as she held the sheet around herself modestly. "Have you seen your room?"

"Never mind the room… Did you just say 'if' we ever do this again?"

Kimberly lay down and snuggled close to him, her forehead nearly touching his. She brushed his cheek with her fingers. "You're right. I meant 'when.' I _definitely_ meant 'when'. But in my defense, I thought it. I didn't say it."

Tommy's eyes were opened a little wider now, and he wrapped an arm around her. "It's all the same with us, Beautiful."

Kim's heart fluttered and she smiled again. "Aren't you even a little concerned about what we did to your stuff? I mean, seriously…" she trailed off as she looked around at the damages their powers had caused.

"Kim," he said, directing her focus back to him, "In all seriousness, last night was one of the most powerful experiences of my entire life. Being with you was so amazingly mind-blowing that I really couldn't care less what we did to my room. In fact, I'm hoping by the end of the day today we can blow the roof off this place."

"Yeah?" she said with a giggle. "What about these?" she asked playfully as she again traced the scratches that laced his upper body.

He winced a little as she touched them, but then he smiled. "It's a good kind of pain, trust me. I'm just thrilled that you were into it enough to do this kind of… damage."

Kimberly rolled her eyes. "Oh, I don't think there was any doubt about me being 'into it'."

"I don't know… No one outside of a three mile radius could hear you," he responded teasingly. Kimberly smacked him gently.

"Hey, don't you need to call in to work?"

Tommy rolled over to look at his clock, but discovered it too had been a casualty of their night of passion. Kimberly giggled as he rolled out of bed to find his phone. He paused in the doorway and looked back at her. She had a beautiful glow to her this morning, and Tommy decided he wanted to see post-sex Kimberly as many times as he could in the next 24 hours. "You'd better be here when I get back," he said sternly, pointing one finger at her.

"I'll see what I can do," she said flirtatiously as he hurried down the hallway.

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Tommy returned a few minutes later to find Kimberly starting to doze off again. He climbed into bed next to her and rolled over so he was nearly on top of her, then he cupped her face in his hand as her eyelids parted to stare back at him.

"School's all taken care of for today. It's a little after six, which means that you and I only got…" he paused as he calculated.

"…three hours of sleep," she interjected.

"Yes, three hours of sleep… What were we thinking?" he asked in jest.

"Well, I think we both stopped 'thinking' around the second or third go-around," she said as she stifled a yawn.

Tommy laughed softly in agreement. "Well, on top of all that, it hasn't stopped raining," he said, glancing toward his broken window. "It's a gray, nasty day."

"That's perfect weather for staying in bed all day," she said suggestively.

"My thoughts exactly," he replied, and leaned down to kiss her. Her soft lips pressed against his, and he wanted to freeze that moment for eternity. Eventually, though, their lips parted and he found himself gawking at her beauty once again.

He brushed a strand of hair from her face as he stared at her in a comfortable silence. Then he spoke up. "Really, though, last night…"

"…was_incredible_," Kimberly crooned, finishing his thought.

"Yeah, it really was. I hope it wasn't just the powers that made it so good, though."

"I don't even care!" Kimberly exclaimed. "We were given these powers for a reason," she said, raising one hand in his direction and allowing it to glow just slightly. "They're supposed to belong to people with an unbreakable bond, and that's a reward in itself. But if they make love-making that euphoric, that's just an added bonus!"

Tommy smiled and kissed her glowing fingertips. "You're right, as always."

"Besides, I think it had a lot more to do with our 'unbreakable bond' as a couple than with our powers. The fact that I love you is what made the sex so good. The powers just made me blow up your chair."

Tommy's heartbeat quickened when he heard her words, and it took him a minute to wrap his head around it.

_That's right. I said 'I love you.'_

Tommy grinned from ear to ear. "I think it was me who blew up the chair," he said, trying to stay calm.

"No no, I did the chair. You did the window, and possibly the TV."

The pair laughed, and silence fell over them once more.

"I love you too," Tommy said softly, just before he leaned in to kiss her once more.

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After just enough kissing to get their energy flowing, the two settled comfortably back into the bed to try to get just a little more sleep. Their slumber only lasted a little while though, before Tommy's thoughts rang in Kimberly's head.

_Hey Beautiful, you awake?_

_You bet._

_I was just thinking… You're leaving tomorrow… Why are we wasting time sleeping?_

Kimberly grinned and rolled to face him. He grabbed her firmly and pulled her over on top of him. She shrieked playfully before letting her lips descend upon his.

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Tommy and Kimberly spent most of the rest of the day alternating between sleeping and making love. The rain beat down on the roof in a steady rhythm, which only seemed to make things more romantic for the two. They managed to keep their oracle powers in check, for the most part (although at one point Kimberly inadvertently let loose a blast that dropped the fan down a little further, and Tommy eventually stood up and pulled it from the ceiling himself.)

Around 3:00, Kimberly found herself snuggling into Tommy's side, his hand lazily stroking her back, and she realized she had never felt more content in her whole life. She was sure she could stay in that bed for the rest of her life and be completely satisfied. She knew, though, this was not an accurate scenario. She was leaving the next morning, and the thought of saying goodbye to Tommy again was ripping her heart to shreds.

"What's with all the negativity?" Tommy asked gently, sensing Kimberly's darkening spirit.

She sighed. "I'm so happy right now… I just don't want any of this to end!"

"Then stop thinking about the 'end' and start enjoying the 'right now,'" he said, kissing her forehead. Kimberly smiled and snuggled a little closer.

"So I was thinking, since it's your last night in town, maybe we could head to up Angel Grove and meet up with Jason and Zack for dinner or something."

Kimberly brightened at his suggestion. "That's a great idea! We could invite Aisha and Rocky too… Adam's in Colorado, right?"

Tommy took great delight in her sudden excitement, especially since he had ulterior motives for going to Angel Grove that night. "I'll give them a call," he said, pulling himself from the bed.

"Don't be gone long," she uttered seductively. Tommy turned back and winked at her as he walked away.

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Two hours later Tommy laid on his bed alone, waiting for Kim to get out of the shower. He was slowly replaying the events of last night… and this morning… and this afternoon… in his head, and a smile crept on to his face. Even the fact that she was leaving tomorrow wasn't bringing him down. The last 48 hours had turned his world upside-down, but the last twelve hours had somehow made him feel as if all was right with the world. He didn't know what was next for him and Kimberly, but he honestly didn't care – because at least there was _something_ on the horizon for the two of them.

Tommy heard the water shut off and he tried to push the thoughts he was having about Kimberly climbing out of the shower out of his head. He didn't want Kim to come out and think he'd been in here fantasizing about her the whole time.

_Why would I need to fantasize? I've pretty much lived all of my fantasies in the last few hours._ This thought caused another content sigh, followed by a smile.

"What time are we meeting the guys?" Kim asked as she stepped into the room. She was wrapped in a towel, her hair wet and hanging loosely over her shoulders. Tommy realized he'd spent all day with her naked, but his breath still caught in his throat when he saw her like this.

"6:30, but it's a half-hour drive, and it's just after five."

"So I'd better hurry."

"Yeah, you'd better hurry," Tommy said casually. He watched as she started scrambling to primp, and he decided he could definitely get used to this setting. Contrary to her belief, he loved waiting for her to get ready. He loved watching her obsess while she got dressed, even though she looked great in anything. And more importantly, she was doing it in his house, which made it feel more like 'their' house.

_Don't get ahead of yourself,_ he reminded himself direly. _One step at a time…_


	23. Chapter 23

_I suffered some writer's block on this one. First time through the whole story! Anyway, I hope it still came out okay. I'm definitely open to suggestions if you have them!_

**Chapter 23**

By 6:00, they were on the road headed for Angel Grove. They took Kimberly's car this time, but Tommy was driving, and Kimberly was gazing dreamily out the window from the passenger side. They had dropped the top in the convertible, since the sky had recently cleared up, and the wind was whipping her perfectly straightened hair around mercilessly. Somehow, though, she just didn't care. She absently swung her head around to try to keep her hair out of her face and ended up staring directly at Tommy.

He looked absolutely incredible. The wind had barely touched his perfectly gelled hair, and his golden-tan face was partially obscured by a pair of sunglasses. His posture was relaxed, with one hand on the wheel and the other propped up on the window frame. He was chewing thoughtfully on a piece of gum, and strangely, the movement of his jaw turned Kimberly on just a little. He wore a black button-down, which was rippling quickly in the wind, over a white tank and a pair of khakis that made his ass look great. His eyes were locked dead ahead as the sun beat down on him, illuminating every one of his sexy features.

_Stop it, Kim, or you'll have to make him pull over and then you'll never get to Angel Grove,_ she chided herself for her shameless scoping as she pulled her eyes away from him.

Tommy chuckled quietly. "Why do you think I'm not looking over at you? We'd be having the same problem," he stated softly. Kim smiled and turned back to her view of the highway.

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They arrived at the restaurant where they were meeting Jason, Zack, Rocky and Aisha right at 6:30. Tommy climbed out of the car as Kim started fussing with her hair and was met immediately by Jason. The two friends hugged, then Jason pulled him out of Kim's earshot.

"So… What's the deal? We're all dying to know!"

"What's the deal with what?"

"You and our favorite pink ranger."

Tommy cast him a lopsided grin. "I told you the other night that she told me everything," he said evasively.

"I know, man, but what has developed since then… Anything?"

Tommy laughed. "Jason, do you know how much you sound like a girly gossip queen right now?"

"Listen, bro, I kept all that stuff inside for a long damn time. I sat through like hundreds of hours of you moping around about her, and I knew the whole time that she didn't really break up with you. Now that everything's out in the open, I need some damn closure. Besides, if I go back inside without this info, Aisha's likely to kill me."

"Well I guess this is your punishment for keeping all of that from me, then." At that point, Kimberly had pulled herself from the visor mirror and had climbed out of the car. She rushed to join the two men, and as she did so she burrowed beneath Tommy's arm and snuggled into his side. He held her there securely as he smiled back at Jason.

"I guess that answers my question, then," Jason said with a laugh. "Hi Kim."

"Hey Jase. What question?"

The two boys laughed. "Nevermind. The others are already inside. Let's go."

Once inside, Kimberly was greeted by an overly-excited Aisha. She threw her arms around her neck as though she hadn't just seen her yesterday. "Hey girl! What's up? How'd things turn out?" she whispered quickly.

Kim smiled. "Well, I checked off everything on my list, so, you know…" she said with a shrug. Aisha let loose an excited giggle before she let go of Kim and rushed to hug Tommy. Meanwhile, Rocky rose to greet the two, and Kimberly hugged him enthusiastically.

"Kim! Good to see you! I heard a story about you," he said with a laugh. "Something about fake break-up letters and kicking Zedd's ass?"

"Oh, you know, it's all in a day's work," she said with a grin as she patted his back. "How've you been?"

"Oh, I've been great! I'll fill you in over dinner," he said as he pulled away and moved to shake Tommy's hand, who had been talking with Zack. When Rocky jumped in with Tommy, Zack glanced over at Kim, smiled, and flashed a thumbs up. Kimberly rolled her eyes playfully and found a seat at the table.

The six old friends spent the first part of their dinner together engulfed in excited chatter. The crew filled Aisha and Rocky in on the details of their latest adventure, while the two of them filled everyone in on where their lives had taken them. When Rocky had been injured he was working at a gym in Stone Canyon, and while he was recovering he started helping with the administrative aspect of the business. He took to it quite nicely, and after he recovered he remained on staff full time as an assistant office manager. Recently he'd decided to go back to school for a business degree. Tommy noticed that Kimberly had lots of questions for him about his degree and his career path, and he remembered that she was contemplating a similar career path.

Aisha had returned from Africa a few years prior, and she'd returned a changed woman (even though you never would have guessed it, seeing her and Kimberly carrying on.) She was now a humble humanitarian and an avid environmentalist. She was working with a research team based in Los Angeles on alternative fuel sources. She and Zack had also worked together on numerous occasions doing non-profit work for AIDS victims all over the world. She shared with the group that the things she saw in Africa made her really appreciate who she was and where she came from, and even though she hadn't been one with her head in the clouds, the experience had grounded her and made her focus on what was really important in her life.

Kimberly listened to her friends talk about themselves and their lives, and in her heart she felt a sense of longing like none she had ever felt before. Here, amongst her oldest, dearest friends she felt more at home than she had anytime in her life. Sitting across from her was the love of her life, and the glances he kept casting her way made her feel cherished and secure. The emotions she was feeling right now would never be able to be replicated; Kimberly felt sure of that. And she knew that without this feeling she'd feel empty for the rest of her life. Suddenly her Olympic medals and her position with Coach Schmidt's team seemed to lose all significance. She leaned across the table and gave Tommy's hand a squeeze, which he reciprocated instantly, sending a quick electric jolt up her arm.

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After a relaxed dinner, the former teammates headed to the parking lot and began to say goodbye. Handshakes turned into hugs and promises to stay in touch. Kimberly hugged Aisha last and the two girls sank back into Kimberly-Aisha mode.

"Promise me you'll call soon! I need details!" Aisha hissed in Kimberly's ear.

"Absolutely. I'll fill you in… as soon as I know the details myself."

The girls giggled, still hugging each other tight. They continued their embrace until Tommy jumped in from where he stood leaning against the car. "Alright, ladies, break it up. We have important places to be."

Kimberly let go of Aisha and turned to look at him. "Important places like where?" she inquired, to which he only responded with a wink.

"That's our cue," Jason said as he pulled open his car door. The others followed his lead. Just before he climbed in, he turned back to Tommy. "Good to see you again, bro. Glad to know all is right with the world again," he said, tilting his head towards Kim.

"Same here, man. Same here. Take care."

As Jason backed out and pulled away, Tommy turned back to Kimberly who was leisurely approaching the car with a flirty smile on her face. "Where are we going?" she begged, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

Tommy grinned and shook his head as he pulled the passenger side door open. "Just get in."

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"Can I open my eyes yet?"

"Nope, not yet."

"Now?"

"Nope. Just sit tight," Tommy said calmly, patting her knee gently. Kimberly sighed impatiently, and continued to wait anxiously until the car had stopped and she heard Tommy open the door.

"Now?!?"

"I'm coming! Hold on!"

Kimberly heard his door slam shut, and seconds later hers was being opened. He took her arm and helped her out of the car, but once she was on her feet, he paused to gaze down on her. She looked adorable with her eyes squeezed shut and one arm reaching out for him to guide her. He leaned down until his lips were almost touching hers, then softly whispered, "Okay, Beautiful, open 'em." As she did, he closed the gap between their lips in a sweet kiss.

When Tommy pulled away from her, she looked around and gasped. She knew immediately where she was. "It's the park!" she exclaimed softly, working against the gentle evening breeze to keep her hair out of her eyes.

Tommy backed away from her slowly but kept his eyes locked firmly on hers. "Come on!" he said, urging her to follow him as he picked up his pace. She took several steps towards him before he turned and burst into a slow jog.

"Tommy!" she called after him, stopping to pull off her shoes. Then she burst into a run, shoes in hand, to catch him.

Kimberly chased Tommy through the park that she knew like the back of her hand. She was barely paying attention to the sight of Tommy in front of her. She knew exactly where he was heading, and she could find her way there in the dark if she needed to. Sure enough, a moment later Tommy stopped. Kimberly, however, did not and ran at full force into Tommy, tackling him to the ground in a fit of laughter.

As their giggles died down, Kimberly pulled herself from the heap of Tommy on the ground to take in the view of the lake they were now facing. "Wow," she said breathily as she brushed herself off. "It's even more beautiful than I remembered.

Tommy had now joined her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I know. It's been a long time for me too."

_This is where it all started for us,_ Kimberly thought, and Tommy clutched her a little tighter.

"You know, after I got your letter, this is where I came. I lost my oracle powers here," Tommy said, still staring out at the lake.

"So doesn't this place make you sad? Why would you want to come here?"

"Because even then, this place reminded me of you. It made me feel…"

"Safe?" Kimberly supplied.

"Yeah," he whispered, turning to look at her. "It was the only place I could think of to go."

"I know the feeling," she said, snuggling closer to him as he placed a kiss delicately on the top of her head. Then Tommy reached down, grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to the lake, until they were standing on that same rock ledge where they had shared their first kiss. As they moved, he kept his eyes fixed tightly on her, while she continued to stare out at the lake.

Tommy cupped Kimberly's chin in his hands and tilted her face upwards until she pulled her eyes away from the hypnotizing view and turned to face him. "I love you, Kimberly Hart. Always have, always will."

Kimberly fought back against the surge of power her emotional rush brought on. With trembling lips, she smiled and whispered, "I love you too, Tommy." She pulled herself up on her toes and planted a deep, passionate kiss on his lips. He responded similarly, tilting her head slightly to deepen the kiss. The couple kissed until they could do without breath no longer. Then Kim pulled her head back, took a deep breath, and said, "So what are we going to do?"

"Well," he said as he sat down on the ledge and pulled her into his lap. "To be honest with you, I wanted to bring you here to try to convince you to move back here with me."

"Have you changed your mind? You don't sound too sure of yourself."

"I have changed my mind. But not because I don't want you to. Trust me, there's nothing I want more. I changed my mind because I don't think it's right for me to ask you."

"Why?"

"Because, Kim, your life in Florida is important. Asking you to leave it behind is just unfair, as much as I'd love for you to come back and stay for good." He stroked her hair absent-mindedly as he spoke. "I feel like we've been living in a bubble these last two days – "

"A_wonderful_ bubble," Kimberly interjected.

"Yes, definitely, wonderful. But you need to go back and we both need to clear our heads before we go making any rash decisions."

"I agree, but…"

"Of course I still want us to be together. I can't live without you much longer," Tommy said quickly, sensing her thoughts. "I just want us to do it right. Maybe I could move to Florida. Maybe you could move here. Maybe we could both move somewhere together. We need to step back and make a good, solid decision."

Kim turned to look him directly in the eye. "When did you get so rational?"

"When I spent eight years without the love of my life."

Kimberly smiled sadly, then leaned in for another intense kiss.


	24. Chapter 24

_Warning – Adult Content…_

**Chapter 24**

Kimberly lay in Tommy's bed staring at the ceiling in the dark, listening to Tommy's rhythmic breathing. She was exhausted, but the last few hours had whipped her emotions into such turmoil that she had no hope of sleeping.

The couple had stayed at the lake until well after dark, and had certainly pushed their PDA limits. Being back at the lake took them both back to when they were infatuated teenagers, and they definitely acted the part – except, they had never been quite so sexual as teenagers. Their hands and lips roamed everywhere they could with clothes on, and when they decided to change that particular condition Tommy grabbed her hand and practically dragged her back to the car.

Once inside the car Tommy had pulled Kimberly into his lap to continue their make out session, and before she had time to blink he had pulled her shirt off over her head and tossed it into the backseat. He covered her bare neck, shoulders and chest with sweet kisses as his hands roamed down her lower back and cupped her ass to pull her closer. She moaned his name twice before he pulled away and looked up at her with lust-filled eyes. She'd barely managed to get the word 'home' past her lips before he pressed his lips against them again. Kimberly pulled herself away reluctantly and climbed back to the passenger seat while Tommy practically peeled out of the parking lot.

Kim giggled to herself as she thought about their car ride home. That half hour had dragged on forever. She'd spent her time running her fingertips along his inner thighs, and there were several moments where Kim thought he might pull over and take her then and there. Instead, he regressed to his stock car racing days, and pretty soon they were zipping down the highway at close to 100 miles per hour. Tommy stayed silent and focused for most of the ride, but when they reached the exit ramp, he turned to her and calmly said, "I'm going to ravage you when we get home. I just want you to know."

Remembering his words sent a shiver through her body, and she closed her eyes as she thought about how well Tommy had kept his word. She'd barely made it through the door before he pulled her down on the couch. They'd made love passionately there in the living room, and then they made their way to the bedroom where they recuperated briefly before going at it once more. Tommy had fallen asleep fairly quickly afterwards with Kimberly held tightly in his arms, but Kim remained awake, her mind spinning frantically. She couldn't stop thinking about the decision she'd promised Tommy not to make until she returned to Florida. She knew Tommy was right about waiting for things to settle down before making a decision with such impact, but she wasn't sure she could go back to Florida like everything was back to normal. She was in love all over again, and that changed everything.

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Tommy awoke with a start and sat straight up in bed. He was breathing hard and he could feel his oracle powers rushing through his body. As his vision cleared, he heard Kim's sweet voice from beside him.

"Tommy? Are you alright?"

He turned to look at her. She'd propped herself up on her elbow and was looking at him with concern. He nodded and mumbled "I'm okay," but she knew otherwise. He'd just woken up from a dead sleep. She pulled herself up so she was sitting beside him and cupped his face in both hands.

"Was it a nightmare?" she asked gently.

"I don't know. I think it was…"

And with that, Kimberly's vision faded to black.

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Kim's eyes sprung open and she gasped for air. She had no idea where she was, but it certainly wasn't Tommy's bedroom. She was surrounded by crowds of people, and it didn't even look like it was night time anymore.

_Where am I?_ she wondered as she pulled herself to her feet and began to look for anything that looked familiar. She soon found it – in the form of herself.

Several feet in front of her, she saw herself – only, much younger, she noticed with remorse for her youth. She was carrying a small duffel bag and appeared to be waiting for someone or something.

_What is going on?_

Her answer stepped out of a nearby doorway. Tommy was walking purposefully towards past-Kimberly, two pink roses in hand, and suddenly Kimberly knew where she was. She was watching herself say goodbye to Tommy eight years ago, the day she'd left for Florida. She took a moment to scope out past-Tommy, with his long hair pulled back into a ponytail. _I miss running my fingers through that,_ she thought briefly. Then she remembered how well-developed Tommy's upper body had become over time, and decided she could do without the hair in exchange for those arms. She diverted her attention back to the young couple.

She watched sadly as Tommy handed her the roses, and she continued to watch as she pulled herself up on her toes to kiss him. _Our kisses were so innocent then,_ she noted, and she felt her cheeks blush as she remembered what she'd been doing with Tommy only hours before.

She watched herself grab Tommy's hand, and she watched Tommy brush a tear from her cheek. Then she watched as they kissed once more, with slightly more depth (and a little bit of tongue, as Kimberly recalled.) She watched herself slowly back away, reluctantly letting go of his hand, and she watched herself blow one last kiss Tommy's way as she turned and headed for security.

Then she watched Tommy as he tried not to cry. He was visibly restraining, and his hands were shoved deep in his pockets to hide their white glow.

She sighed softly and bit her lip as her vision faded once more.

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When her vision cleared, she was back in Tommy's bedroom.

"You did it!" she exclaimed, cutting Tommy off mid-sentence.

"Did what?"

"You took me into your memories, like I did to you."

"What did you see?"

Kimberly's excited smile faded. "I saw us. At the airport."

Tommy nodded knowingly. "I think that's what I was dreaming about."

The two sat in silence in the dark, Kim's hands still brushing gently against Tommy's cheeks. The she spoke. "It won't be like last time, Tommy."

"How do you know?"

"Well, for one, if I get a break-up letter, I'll know it's bogus," she joked, but she could sense Tommy was not in a light-hearted mood. "I don't know Tommy; I just know it's different. I can't stay away from you this time. I won't."

Tommy nodded and kissed her palm gently.

"Unless of course you decide to get back together with Kat."

"Alright, that's it," Tommy said, finally smiling as he pushed her down on the bed and leaned over her. Her giggle was all he needed to hear. "We can do this long distance thing, right? I mean, we have email now, and cell phones…"

"And frequent flier miles…" she chimed in, and when Tommy cast a confused glance her way, she added, "Okay, I don't have any yet, but I will soon."

Tommy smiled and ran a finger over her lips. "We'll make this work, Beautiful. I know we will. And the long-distance part will not be long term, I know that."

She nodded in agreement, then took his hand from her face, laced her fingers through it and pulled it up over her head, forcing Tommy's face to come closer to hers.

"Make love to me, Tommy," she whispered.

"Anything you want," he responded as he happily obliged.

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The next morning came way too soon. Both Tommy and Kimberly were running on very little sleep as they both drove to the Angel Grove Airport. Kimberly had half-heartedly tried to convince Tommy to say goodbye to her at the house and let her go alone so he could get some sleep before school, but she knew that was an argument she'd never win. Besides, she wanted to spend every spare moment she could with him.

After dropping off her rental car just after 6:30, the pair made their way into the airport. Both were struck with a déjà vu-like sensation, and Tommy clutched her hand a little tighter. He walked her as far as he could without a boarding pass, then he used the hand he was holding to swing her around and face him.

"Kim, seriously… I don't think words can express how wonderful this weekend has been."

"I know the feeling. Trust me, it's definitely not what I was expecting when I got on that plane."

He made firm eye contact with her that made his knees shake just a little, and he stroked the top of her hand, subconsciously focusing on her ring finger. Kimberly did not miss the symbolism. "We will have a life together. Soon. I promise you that."

Kim nodded, fighting against her trembling legs. "I know we will, Tommy." She wrapped her arms around her neck and pulled his face down for a smoldering kiss. It lasted just long enough to make people nearby feel uncomfortable, and had they been watching closely they would have caught a small fireworks show between their lips. She pulled away, murmured "I love you" romantically, and then began to back away.

He watched her go and took in her sheer beauty one last time. He truly felt like the luckiest guy in the world. He never would have expected a guy like him to even have a chance with a girl like her – let alone, two chances.

As she maintained eye contact with him from several feet away, she heard him in her head. _Hey, thanks for the… you know…_ he 'said' as he lifted one hand and let it glow a soft white.

_Are you crazy?__People are going to think you're abnormal or something! Put that away!_

_Eh, I'm starting to think being 'normal' is overrated. And boring._

She grinned at him with that bright, brilliant smile, and he almost ran at her to beg her not to go. Then he heard her voice in his head again.

_For real, though, if you get a letter saying I want to break up, go ahead and…_ she used her pinky and her thumb to pretend to place a phone to her ear.

He laughed. _Will do._

The two looked at each other from their respective positions in front of the security checkpoint, both of their faces falling back to being serious.

_I love you Tommy._

_I love you Kimberly._

With that, she blew him a kiss, and turned to head through security and head back to Florida. Florida – not home. She'd never think of anywhere without Tommy as 'home' again.

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_That's it! I'm closing the book on this story, so to speak. Thank you SO much to those of you who have been reading, and a BIG thank you to those of you who have left reviews! I never realized how much of a rush it is to read what people have to say about your writing. I think I'll have to start leaving more reviews myself! Your comments are what made me come home and write every day, instead of doing more productive things. _:-)

_Anyway, thanks again to all of you for taking interest in the story. I really enjoyed writing it, and I'm sure I'll be writing again as soon as inspiration strikes!!_


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